Reflection of the Soul
by Red Sova
Summary: I had heard of Soul Theory in passing, but to be honest, I never really paid much attention to it as I always had something 'more important' to do. Now though..Now I wish I had actually paid attention because those lessons I had so casually deemed 'unimportant' affected me more than I would have ever suspected... 'All in favor of getting off this looney train...Jump now.'
1. Chapter 1

_**I had heard of Soul Theory in passing, but to be honest, I never really paid much attention to it as I always had something 'more important' to do. Now though... Now I wish I had actually paid attention because those lessons I had so casually deemed 'unimportant' affected me more than I would have ever suspected.**_

 _ **"And there lies the problem. Neither of you was meant to meet your ends like this but something has influenced your Worlds and now I find myself with two Key Pieces for the Future of Your Words trapped within my Domain." -Death**_

 _ **'All in favor of getting off this looney train...Jump now.' - SI! Jaeger with a twist.**_

* * *

 _Prolonged_

 _The only certainty in Life is Death._

 _No matter how hard you tried there was no escape from the End. You couldn't outrun it, you couldn't fight it nor was it something which you could out wait for Death is patient. Wither it was today, tomorrow, next week, next year or even a thousand years; Death would wait and when you least expected it; Death would claim the lost soul wondering around Life's Playground._

 _This was a fact everyone knew yet subconsciously tended not to think about it. Not that she blamed them, Death was everything Humanity as a whole feared:_

 _The End- Judgement Day, itself- where you lost everything you worked for in your life only to be thrown headfirst into the uncertainty of what lay beyond the Reaper._

 _Would Heaven be real? Hell? Would your Gods be waiting for you?_

 _Where any of those Theories the Pastors, Priests, books, and Television spoke of real or was everything a lie? Was there anything beyond The Reaper's embrace or would you just cease to exist?_

 _Honestly, They very well might but I couldn't say._

 _If I thought about it, I could recall walking alongside a road on my way home as the sky darkened. I could remember hearing the screeching metal and the smell of burning rubber against the asphalt. I could remember turning slightly only to find myself blinded by bright yellow lights only moments before waking on the cold ground with a brunette hovering in my line of sight._

 _She had to be a teenager, no mater then eighteen at the most, with a pixie cut and terrified hazel eyes. She was screaming something at her friends, but I couldn't quite make it out over the ringing in my ears. Though it soon became clear as I managed to catch a glimpse of a silver truck with a crimson stain upon its hood rushing past where we were..._

 _Ah, a Hit and Run. How had they known that was Just what I wanted? I mean it's not like I had anything planned for tonight- It wasn't my Little Sisters Birthday tonight and that defiantly wasn't her present being run over in my bag, Honest!- or the rest of my life._

 _The Brunette screamed something else after the vehicle before those terrified eyes looked down once more; for a brief moment surprise and shock flickered across the hazel orbs before she forced a smile._

 _"-be okay."_

 _She was a horrible liar, but if nothing else I had to give her point for staying instead of fleeing like her 'friends' so I did my best to ignore the pain aside and forced a smile onto my lips- It wasn't easy seeing as how just breathing felt like I was being tortured but I somehow managed it- before the darkness swept in once more._

 _Only this time with the darkness came Death._

 _There you have it. My Death wasn't anything Brave or Heroic. It wasn't the sort of Death history would be written about- instead, I would most likely be forgotten over time by all besides my Family and the Brunette- though it's not my Death that mattered._

 _Rather it's what came after My Death._

 _I had heard of Soul Theory in passing, but to be honest, I never really paid much attention to it as I always had something 'more important' to do._

 _Now though..._

 _Now I wish I had actually paid attention because those lessons I had so casually deemed 'unimportant' affected me more than I would have ever suspected._

There was a reason I couldn't tell you what lied beyond Death's embrace despite having a first-hand experience at it that reason was this:

I never made it pass Death and the Endless Void he called home-

" _What do you mean I can't move on?!/ **What do you mean I can't go back?!"**_

-though I was thankful I wasn't the only person having such an issue.

I won't lie and say I completely understood what the Deity was talking about as he tried to explain exactly neither I nor the cosplayer- _Honestly, I was rather impressed. I hadn't seen such a convincing Vindice Coplay in all my years and was tempted to question on how he managed it-_ next to me could move on but I would like to think I understood enough.

We were ' _Fractured Souls'._

Honestly, I don't know how that happened. Sure, I would acknowledge my life wasn't perfect- _full of complication, challenges and those just waiting to shove me off the edge of a steep cliff the moment I lowered my guard_ \- but what type of life wasn't? Surely there were other's out there with lives worse than mine so how had my Soul fractured?

"So you're saying we're too broken to move onwards and there's not enough of us to go backward."

"Yes," Deaths voice was soft like a winter breeze yet somehow I just knew I would be capable of hearing it over the loudest of sounds should the Deity wish it so, "Alone neither of you are capable of going forward or backward."

I latched onto the Deity's words, carefully pondering them over in my head- _after all, anyone who read the Legends knew to be careful when dealing with Deity's least one wanted to be screwed over-_ while wondering if the Cosplayer had noticed the same thing I did.

Alone we were trapped in this hollow void but what if we weren't alone? Sure I may not know the guy beneath the Vindice Cosplay but I was already dead so what did I have to lose if we could come to a comprise that would get us both out of here?

 **"But there is a way out."**

"Yes. If you two were to form a pact it very well may allow you to decide wither to move forward or back."

In a way, it sounded nice- _perfect even_ \- as all I would need to do was become friends with Mr. Cosplayer, play games, possibly have matching friendship bracelets then make a promise that would send us both on our separate ways-

"What's the catch?"

\- _but If there was anything I had learned in my life it was that nothing was that simple, let alone granted without some sort of price attached to it._

"Only one being can leave."

 _Of course_. I could feel a frown twisting onto my face as the soft rattle of what I believed to be chains- _I defiantly wanted to compare notes with the Cosplayer now. Such dedication was rare these days-_ reached my ears.

" **Explain**."

Without hesitation, I kicked Mr. Cosplayer- _mentally cursing the other as an idiot. After all, only fools made demands of a Deity and I was in no rush to discover wither or not Death could actually devour souls_ -while offering the Deity my best ' _Charming yet innocent_ ' smile, "What my Companion means is Would you kindly take a moment of your time to explain the situation to us?"

"You two truly have not noticed who you stand next to, have you?" Though I wasn't quite sure how I just knew he was amused by the two of us but for what reason I could not place.

"A cosplayer?/ **An Actor?"**

A dry throaty noise left the Deity and it took me a moment longer than I would like to admit to realize he was laughing at us.

"No. Your two worlds mirror each other; leaving traces of one another in forms of legends and Stories alongside you persists neither Actor nor Cosplayer but the Original themselves. "

 _Wait... What?!_ My head twisted to the side so fast I could hear the bones pop as I stared in disbelief at Mr. Cosplayer- _who wasn't actually a Cosplayer but the real deal.. .How the hell did that work and why the Hell was Jaeger dead when in both the comics and the anime he was at the Arcobaleno Trials?!-_ who was granting myself a near identical look.

 **"You mean to tell me she's-"**

"Yes."

 **"How? I read the Stories, she was there at the end."**

"I could say the same for you," I mumbled softly while feeling left out- _Exactly what 'stories' was he talking about?_ \- causing golden eyes to glance my way once more though this time they held a gleam I was certain was reflected in my own. Great, we can both start a ' _Complete Strangers know more about my life than me'_ Club together.

"And there lies the problem. Neither of you was meant to meet your ends like this but something has influenced your Worlds and now I find myself with two Key Pieces for the Future of Your Words trapped within my Domain."

 **"And you plan to fix this.. How?"**

"Simple," There was something about Death's smile- _maybe it was the gleam of the Deity's teeth or the sense in which it reminded me of a sharp smelling blood out in open waters-_ which caused me to slowly back away, "You two have fracted Souls but more than that; You have compatible Souls since the two of you are one another's Counterparts within your worlds."

I wasn't the only one backing away now as the darkness seemed to close in- _as though attempting to block a non-existent escape route-_ with every word that left Death's lips sending an icy chill down my spine, "I said one being can leave but that Being must have a Whole Soul to do so and wouldn't you know it?"

The Deity's Slasher Smile seemed to split his face into two.

"Two Halves make a Whole."

 **Chapter 1**

 _No matter how hard you tried there was no escape from the End._

 _You couldn't outrun it, you couldn't fight it nor was it something which you could out wait for Death is patient_

 _Wither it was today, tomorrow, next week, next year or even a thousand years; Death would wait and when you least expected it; Death would claim the lost soul wondering around Life's Playground._

 _But that didn't mean it you couldn't try._

 _Nor that when Death finally did catch you, it would keep you._

They wake in the darkness to an icy chill that has set across the stone surrounding them. For a moment, all they do is stare out into the darkness as they attempted to sort out what had happened.

 _He had died attempting to protect Bermuda from the Abomination Checkerface only to have his own Flames stolen instead. She had died in a Hit and Run performed by Drunken Teenagers. He had ended up with a young woman, most likely an Actor, of barely twenty summers. She had ended up with a rather talented Cosplayer who appeared to be only slightly older than herself. He could not go back. She could not move forward._

 _Death._

 _He/She was not a Cosplayer/Actor._

 _Fractured Souls._

 _A shark-like smile._

 _A need to escape but nowhere to run._

 _Pain._

 _Agonizing, unrelenting pain as two Fractured Souls become One stable enough to leave despite the cracks still within them. Confusion consumed them as a headache from Hell itself drums within their mind._

 _He does not know where he ends. She does not know where she begins. They are not ready to leave. Death does not grant them a choice._

Slowly, they take a breath- _almost choking on the stale air surrounding them-_ the slight movement of which causes their parched lips to crack before attempting to sit up-

 **Clank!**

Only to find themselves slowly blinking into the darkness as their head collides with a stone lid. It takes a bit more effort than either of them cared to admit for them to shove the lid aside- _their arms feel like jelly by time they're done-_ but they're finally able to sit up once more.

Within the dim moonlight, He instantly recognizes where they are:

 _The Veckenschtein Family Crypt._

Neither knows why they are here but He is filled with relief knowing they are in His World and likely in His Body as well. She is not as relieved and for that, a part of Him cannot help but feel both a sense of guilt and grief- especially when the mental image of a small, dark haired child of barely six summers appears in their mind- but They swiftly brush the stray feelings aside.

They can try sorting themselves out later. For now, Both wanted out of this tomb.

So they stand...

 _Or rather they try to._

Their legs are too weak to support themselves and they soon find themselves face down on the harsh Earth below their stone coffin. Neither feels the pain they know they should, but it's another thing they brush aside for later.

They want out of this Crypt and They want out of it _now_.

She is the first to act; reaching forward and digging bronzed fingers- _ones that where the opposite shade of what her pale ones had once been-_ into the Earth below and forcibly dragging Their shared body forward. He does not hesitate to follow her lead and in no time they have dragged their aching body into the cool night air outside the Veckenschtein Family Tomb before pushing it onto its back.

Above their head, the distant stars shined brightly within the Night Sky.

 _Well, they were out but now what?_ They could not stay here- _who knew how people would react if they saw a supposedly dead man outside his tomb especially considering this day and age-_ but She does not know this world and He is unsure.

For one reason or another, both their homes are lost to them, but they cannot stay here so...

 _What do they do now?_

The Stars are beautiful but they do not hold the answers either of them seeks, so they force their golden eyes to look away.

 _It doesn't take them long to figure out they don't need food, they don't need water. Hell, they don't even need to breathe though they did so mostly out of habit- there was something rather unnerving about the stillness of their chest, the lack of a steady heartbeat._

 _Though neither of them wished to admit it, it probably for the best- least they once more found themselves confined within another stone coffin- as they spend the next two weeks crawling on their hands and knees slowly edging deeper and deeper into the forest surrounding Veckenschtein Manor with nothing but their own stubborn natures edging them forward._

 _Honestly, it's both painful and humiliating to have their most basic of necessaries- Walking...Running...Even just standing under their own strength and power. Things they had never even thought about and taken for granted- stolen away without so much as a 'by your leave'._

 _Then there was the state of their mind..._

 _It was a mess; He cannot find where He ends and She begins because he does not end nor does She begin instead they overlapped- their minds shoved together like the pieces of a jagged puzzle- until could hardly tell who was who; let alone who owned what memory._

 _Its something both agreed would need to be dealt with- They couldn't afford the constant onslaught of memories bashing into their skulls at every other trigger- so they crawl inside the hollow of a Great Oak to rest as they focus their attention inward._

* * *

 _Two years._

 _It had been two years since the End of the Former Arcobaleno, Two years since the betrayal of Checkerface lead to the Death of Six of the World's Strongest, three of which had been HIS._

 _Alejandro, who was the Rain his SoulFire sought. The blue-haired wasn't a fighter, instead, he always sent those handcrafted Dolls the man called 'His Children' out in his stead. It was probably why the Rain was the first to shatter against the Earth's surface._

 _Jack, who the Storm in every sense possible. A fiery redhead who couldn't stay out of trouble to save his life and wouldn't know the meaning of 'Impossible' if it walked up and slapped him in the face. Unfortunately, not even the Storm's unbending fury could prevent the Redhead's end though he lasted longer than others._

 _Then there was Jaeger...A Cloudy Sun- such a rarity. Besides himself, Bermuda had never met another with Dual SoulFire until he crossed paths with the Golden-eyed man- who had been born a Gypsy's Son._

 _The slightly elder man had been a paradox to the Veckenschtein Heir. After all, everyone knew those with Dual SoulFire where favored by the Gods but he was Gypsy's son- an Outcast to the point even the Gods had forsaken the man's people and demanded their Deaths so to cleanse the world of their presence- yet the man was obviously blessed by the Gods._

 _Then, as if that wasn't enough, his own SoulFire sought after the man's own. It was the first time Bermuda experience rejection though it was also the first time someone ever spoke their mind in his presence and pointed out what a glided cage he truly lived it._

 _It was... Strangely refreshing to have someone who didn't instantly like him- someone who didn't care about his Family Name or Titles; Someone he actually had to work to win over- and offered a new perspective to the world. Honestly, those had been the most challenging years of his life- Jaeger had no patients for pretenders something Bermuda learned quickly- but they were worth it._

 _Jaeger didn't see Heir Veckenschtein, Lord Veckenschtein or an opportunity. All the golden-eyed man saw was Bermuda, himself. It was something Bermuda didn't know he needed until that moment._

 _In the end, though, knowing Bermuda for himself didn't save Jaeger. If anything it was what condemned the other. He had been too weak to save himself and the Sun- His Sun- too willing to place the value of another's life above his own. Once upon a time, Bermuda might have wished for such loyalty but during those moments- watching helplessly from his place on the ground as that creature tore out that brilliant golden SoulFire causing the other's body to decay before his very eyes- all Bermuda wished was that the Cloudy Sun had been anything but Loyal._

 _Out of the World's Seven Strongest only he survived- Checkerface, the bastard, had assumed him dead and didn't wish to dirty his hand by moving the golden-eyed man's body from where it had fallen on top of him to check- though he was never the same._

 _The Cloud aspect of his SoulFire was gone leaving only the black fire he would dub 'Night'- fueled by his rage, grief, and utter hatred for the creature- in its place. As time passed, he begins to learn better control over this New SoulFire- a single goal radiating throughout his mind- and all it entitled._

 _That had been two years ago. Two long torturous years, but now..._

 _Now he was ready._

 _Now it was time for his Guardians to stand tall once more, now was the time for ghosts from Checkerface's past to resurface fueled with an unholy vengeance- and a single focus, not even Death would be capable of stopping- unlike any this world had seen before._

 _Standing as tall as his toddler-sized body would allow, Bermuda entered his family crypt. A moment later an inferno of Night Flames and a furious cry of unholy rage saturated the late night's air._

It had been three weeks- _three long, sleepless weeks-_ since they crawled out from the hollowed oak- _their mind a bit more organized then what it had originally been yet still rather chaotic-_ in favor of relearning the most basic of necessities and what did they have to show for it?

Nothing, **absolutely nothing.**

If they were honest, they felt _useless_. They could not walk, they could not stand. Most days they found it difficult to even move their stiff, heavy body- _some days they just wanted to crawl back inside the stone prison they had woken in and just be left alone-_ but their own stubbornness prevented that.

Sure; they did not need to eat, to sleep, the breathing.

Sure; they lacked the steady rhythm of a heartbeat, the rush of blood coursing through their bodies.

Sure, They never hungered or thirst; but They were fully capable of independent thought and speech- _through their words were slow and sluggish. Their voice was hoarse and cracked whenever they attempted to speak louder than a whisper or more than just a small handful of words._ And though it took a bit more effort than it should of; they could feel.

Their bones constantly ached, silently pleading with them to stop- _to rest_ \- but they couldn't- _they wouldn't-_ for no matter how useless they felt- _humiliated and hurt with a body that constantly worked against them and a mind they still needed to settle-_ to stop was to die and They weren't dead.

Not yet, at least; so they continued to force their aching body forward. They were almost there. Just a little bit more and they would be safe. Just a little more and they would be _Home_.

 _Home, it turned out, was located within the ruins of a long forgotten caravan that appeared to have been burned to the ground only for nature to overrun what was once left._

She finds it beautiful while He finds it mortifying- _especially when they stumble across the first of many skeletons all but fused into the Earth by thick twines of ivy with a rosebush growing out of its shattered skull-_ so They try not to think about it as they drag their heavy body into the ruins of a half-burned down house- _if it could even be called that-_ which their mind labeled as Home.

The moment they enter She's tempted to drag their body back out. Half the roof is just gone- _no doubt lost when the fire consumed the Caravan_ \- only to be replaced by the finely weaved silk webs which could only come from one thing: _Spiders_ or more specifically spiders the size of a Siberian Husky.

 _I want to go back outside_ , the part of them that is Her whimpers- _of all the things in this world and the next that could have been waiting for them inside 'Home' it just had to be giant spiders, didn't it?_ \- while the part that is Him ignores the unease filling their mind in favor of dragging them further inside- _He refuses to permit a few spiders to drive them from His Childhood home_ \- causing the fine silk to cling to their form like a cloak.

Its just a few spiders, the part of them that is Him whispers as he tries to ensure She cannot see the memories of the sparse times people had disappeared from the Caravan only to be located as dry husks deeper within the surrounding forest wrapped firmly within the same silk threads currently hugging them. Maybe it was wrong of Him to hide this from Her but he needs her to focus- _their body felt as heavy as the stone carved dragons which guarded the First Class Nobles' homes making it near impossible to move on his own though he finds the burden lighter when shared-_ instead of panicking.

For a moment, he's worried he had not succeeded- _that by trying to hide the memory she had gotten a glimpse into it-_ though he finds his worry soothed away as a caramelized hands - _which had once been just his-_ reaches forward without his guidance. Satisfied, he focuses once more on the task before them.

The bedroom- _their final goal-_ was thankfully in better condition than the living room had been- _There was an actual roof over their head and no spiders in sight-_ though it still suffered over through the years. For one, there was dust and dirt everywhere, a good portion of the floorboards was rotted and the covers that once served as a bed had been eaten into by moths and only God knows what else.

Neither of them can bring themselves to care though as they collapse on top of the motheaten ' _bed_ ' finding comfort within the familiarity of their environment and the childish gesture. Now that they were home they were safe. Everything would be okay now. It had be as there was no other option left to them besides falling to pieces.

 _If Jaeger- as they had grown to call themselves during these last twelve months- was honest, walking wasn't all that complicated -now that they found themselves in a safe location to practice without the worry of anyone accidentally stumbling across them- Balance was the Key as all they had to do was place one foot in front of the over..._

 _Though makeshift cane they crafted the remains of a collapsed tree helped._

 _Instead, they swiftly discovered their biggest challenge lay in bathing._

 _Bathing- despite what one may assume- was a rather difficult and time-consuming process._

 _Especially when one had a giant hole in their side- exposing the bones of their ribs and several God organs that really shouldn't be left exposed to the open air- where water could seep inside without them even noticing._

 _Apparently, Death- who could 'fix' their shattered souls- didn't have a clue how to heal a body that had been dead- slowly rotting away inside a crypt for all of two years- before shoving their 'newly repaired' soul back inside..._

 _Figures._

* * *

 _A/N: In this story, both Jaeger and the SI both exist.  
When I first started to write this story I found there were two ways I could go with it.  
On one hand- Side A, Reflection of the Soul-The SI and Jaeger had both their Souls and Minds where forcibly melded into one- like the pieces of a rather messed up jigsaw puzzle- by Death. They end up in Jaeger's body years after Checkerface killed Jaeger's Generation of the Arcobaleno.  
Despite the two being capable of shared control, The SI ends up with the Main Control of their body- since they have more of their soul than Jaeger. No thanks to Checkerface- though Jaeger is also capable of taking control should he desire or the need arise.  
Think of it like fusion: One body, Two minds and eventually One personality that contains a bit of both. _

_Side B, on the other hand, has Jaeger and the SI being reincarnated after Death fuses their Souls. They have fewer issues then Side A SI! Jaeger, as Death took more time and effort into 'repairing' their Souls.  
I originally planned for their SI! Jaeger- who was to be reborn around the same time as Hibari Kyoya and therefore a few years older than Tsunayoshi- to have their mind already sorted out and a whole childhood to repair the physical damage. The SI! would have main control over the body, both sets of memories for whatever good that would do them- while Jaeger would only be capable of taking control during dire- literal Life and Death- situations. Otherwise, he would act as the SI's conscious.  
Honestly, I've yet to decide whether or not to write Side B as of yet._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 _To be honest, Resorting to petty thievery in the dead of the night wasn't their proudest moment; but they needed new clothes as the ones they had woken where worn down to the point only a handful of sparse stands still held them together._

 _Unfortunately, there weren't any other options available to them; seeing as they didn't know how to weave their own clothing and they just walk up to whatever stranger rested behind a wooden counter to ask for a job or even spare clothing._

 _Well... Not unless they wanted to start a 'Zombie Craze' a couple of Centuries ahead of schedule._

 _Which was how they ended up here; slowly edging their way around the outskirts of a small village near the border of the forest. Honestly, they never took much- only what they absolutely needed and only when their 'victims' had a steady surplus available- so they never really expected much to occur from the event._

 _Looking back on it, Jaeger felt as though they really should have known better._

Winter was coming.

They could hear the winds howling though they could not feel them- _though they knew it was not so, a part of them liked to believe it was due to the heavy traveling cloak they had stolen months ago-_ as they continued to make their way down the deserted street illuminated solely by the sparse moonlight the clouds would spare the earth resting below them.

They gave it a couple more days- _a week at most-_ until the first of snowfall would begin to show itself. Which meant they had less than a week until everyone would start hoarding themselves and their families inside their homes; festering upon the harvest of grain and preserved goods they had saved throughout the year. While they know this should annoy them- _if for no other reason than complicating their already complexed 'job'-_ They can't really find it in themselves to care.

Unlike them, these people needed their shelter to protect them from the harsh elements Old Man Winter was sure to throw their way and food to able them to see another day. Still, that didn't mean they were just going to stop; if anything they would take this as but another challenge thrown their way by whatever Deity which was obviously screwing with them.

 _For now though..._ Jaeger forced their golden eyes away from the heavens above in favor of staring at the Manor that would fall victim to their newest heist, they had work to do.

Looking back on it, everything had started out well enough: They had avoided all the guards stationed outside and managed to slip in through a window someone had forgotten to latch shut only to find themselves within an expensive looking study. Had they been a regular thief, the might have just ransacked the place and stolen anything- _and everything_ \- that wasn't nailed down.

Instead of that though, Jaeger automatically headed for the bookshelves as they had no real need for money or valuables _\- what good would such things do them? They did not eat and rarely did they stumble across anything that would catch their interest long enough for them to even contemplate purchasing it-_ through knowledge...

Knowledge would always be welcomed as Knowledge was power and power meant freedom; something they valued more so than anything else. So they permitted themselves a moment to just glance over the titles- _bronze fingers gently stroking the spine as though they were lost lovers_ \- with sense of delight. He had never been capable of reading before though now he could understand the words before him as though he had known them all his life; while she had always enjoyed a good book _\- a welcoming escape-_ when her mood reached its lowest.

Had they not been so distracted maybe they would have heard the door as it was silently pushed open yet as it stood neither had been aware of the extra person within the room until a soft, childish voice pierced the silence, "Mister Thief, are you here to steal me away?"

They froze as though Medusa herself had appeared before them _\- bronze fingers still pressed lightly against the leather bindings of a worn down tome as they leaned slightly onto their makeshift cane_ \- only to turn them to stone.

"Mister Thief," The child's voice sounded closer though held a worry to its undertone, "Are you alright?"

Confusion thrummed through their mind _\- after all, usually people screamed when they caught a stranger within the safety of their homes and if that wasn't enough Their looks should have been-_ as they slowly drew back their hand while turning slightly so they could face the Little One who had caught them in the act.

Not that it did them much good, without the candles to light the room they could only see an outline of the child- _female, maybe six or seven summers at the most-_ which seemed to shift nervously before she took a deep breathe"Are you stealing Papa's books?"

"...I've considered it." They confessed as their golden eyes moved drifted towards the cracked window. If they made a run for it now they could probably make it off the property before the child registered-

"Can you steal me steal me too?"

 _Wait..._ _ **What**_ _?_ Jaeger could feel their brow furrow in confusion as they obviously must have misheard the child _\- Mentally they cursed the Gods as for while they could live with being an undead corpse neither of them wanted to lose their hearing to the decay_ \- as they turned their head back in the child's estimated direction, "I'm sorry? I don't think-"

"Please?" the little one cuts them off- _a hint of desperation and childish hope clinging to their voice-_ as she took a step closer causing the sparse moonlight to fall upon short brunette hair, pleading amber eyes and heavily bruised face.

They shouldn't; They really **shouldn't**.

She was a Noble's Child _\- a First Class child at that-_ and though it pained them to admit it; they were nothing more than a petty thief who most people pretended didn't exist more times than not. If they took her though...

If they took her that would change. Anyone and everyone would be after their head. It was too dangerous, too much of a risk for someone they didn't even know; they both knew that yet...

She was a child. A child who was obviously in a bad place and was reaching out to them- _in both a silent and a verbal plea- for help. For a moment, Jaeger_ permitted themselves a moment of silence as they stared down the little one _\- taking in each and every bruise their sharp golden eyes could spot-_ before crouching down and carefully picking her up.

While this wasn't the Heist they had originally planned, Jaeger was certain they could find a way of making this work instead.

* * *

The moment they enter their home, Jaeger knows they made a mistake.

Despite it being spider free, their home wasn't suitable for a child- _a giant hole in the roof, dry rotted floors, cracks in the walls, missing window panels-_ or any living person for that matter to reside within; especially with Old Man Winter creeping around the corner. They suppose they could attempt to repair the damage but, if they were honest; there was no possible way for them to do so within the short period of time they had left.

Still, it was _too late_ to back down now. They had already stolen the child and they couldn't very well return her- _not when she had been so desperate to escape she had asked a complete stranger to steal her away from the only life she knew_ \- so they would just have to find a way of making this work.

Sighing softly, they shifted their grip on the sleeping child before carefully making their way across what should have been the family room _-every step they took had soft groans of strain echoing from the dry-rotted floorboards through none broke as they kept their steps quick and light-_ in favor of heading towards their bedroom.

Honestly, while their bedroom was better off than the rest of their home; it was still unsuitable for a child _\- There was still dirt on the ground, dust in the air and cracks in the wall from where their home had settled. All in all, not that much had changed from the day they had dragged their heavy corpse of a body through the doorway though they had at least enough foresight to replace the motheaten blankets with quilts stolen from a merchant who had forgotten to secure his cart in favor of getting drunk at the village's only tavern_ \- though it would have to do.

 _For now,_ at least.

Silently, they kneel next to their makeshift bed before slowly lowering the little one onto it- _each movement they made careful calculated so not to wake their slumbering package-_ before attempting to make their way to their feet; only to find themselves stopped short by a firm grip on the front of their heavy traveling cloak.

Its... _frustrating_ , trying to pry the Little one's steel grip off of them.

 _Surely they can't be that comfortable,_ the part of them that is Him grumbles in exasperation while She finds herself filled with a fond amusement. Yet despite his grumbling, Neither of them really mind the contact _\- After all, She had been an older sister to favor clingy child once so they both know how to remove the Little One had they actually wanted to-_ as they settled onto the dirty floor while pulling the quilt into their lap so to keep the child warm.

Neither of them was sure exactly how long they sat there- _though if they had to estimate they would say a couple of hours judging by how the sparse moonlight seemed to cross the room-_ before the child shifted her grip from their traveling cloak to the corner of a quilt. After waiting until they were sure she wasn't going to start grabbing ahold of them once more, Jaeger carefully shifted the child off their lap and onto their makeshift bed as their golden eyes carefully darted across the room: _Dust, dirt, about a dozen, rotted floorboards, a large crack on one of the widow's shutters, cracks in the wall..._

While it could be worse, they still had a great deal of work ahead of them if they wanted this place to _be 'child-friendly_ ' anytime soon. Sighing softly, Jaeger silently trecked across the room _\- careful to ensure the door didn't creak too loudly_ \- and out of the house.

 _After all, The sooner they started with as the sooner they would be done._

In Jaeger's opinion, their plan was simple enough.

They would start out by repairing their bedroom first- _as it would be the place the little one slept within_ \- before slowly making their way outwards. The dirt and dust were easy enough to deal with as all they really had to do was give the place a good sweep and wipe down; the shutters were also easily dealt with as all they had to do was switch their's out with another proper pair located within the ruins of the caravan.

Unfortunately, once that was done; neither of them an idea of what they were doing. Sure, they knew enough to know they had to pull up the dry-rotted floorboards; but after that...

Well, the only experience she had on carpeting was a woodshop class she had taken back in High School- _something that was beginning to prove rather useless now due to the lack of power tools and it wasn't as though they covered how to build/repair ruins into houses hundreds of years before you were even a speck in your great, great grandmother's eye-_ and He only knew the basics from watching the adults as they worked when he was but a child.

Still, they were nothing if not stubborn- _somehow_ , _someway they would make this work-_ which was why they were still at it despite this being what must have been their hundredth attempt at making a proper piece of plywood instead of the weird curvy, mix-matched results they kept ending up with.

 _We need proper equipment,_ Jaeger decided as they stared upon another piece of the woodwork- _they couldn't even call it plywood at this point-_ that was somehow worse than all their previous attempts.

 _Despite what they might have first assumed, Jaeger found their biggest problem didn't come from having to reconstruct their Home but rather with two very simple words spoken by a half-asleep child as they tugged on his pants leg:_

 _"I'm hungry."_

 _For a moment they just there- their mind not quite registering what the child had said- causing the child to tug a bit harder on their pants, "Mr. Thief, I'm hungry."_

 _Had there not been a child clinging to their pants leg, Jaeger would have cursed._

 _After all, they **really** didn't think this through._

If they were honest, Jaeger felt rather foolish for not considering the other necessaries the Little One would require while within their care. Thankfully there was a steam located on the edge of the Ruins that would at least supply them with a proper campfire breakfast for the Little One until they could secure a steady income of actual food.

Fruits, Grain, Meets, Wheat, Dairy, Vegetables.

"We need a new Haunting Ground," Jaeger mumbled to themselves- _well aware of how crazy they might have appeared to an outsider_ \- as their mind swiftly patched together the rough outline of a three-step plan.

"Mister Thief?" The Little One's confused tone causes them to glance up only to barely hold back a grimace as two fingers press the bottom of the child's mouth shut, "Either eat or talk. You cannot do both." causing the brunette's face to flush the shade of a ripe tomato before swallowing audibly.

"Is something wrong, Mister Thief?"

"Nothing serious," They didn't even try to hide their slight problem from the Little One like most adults would have. After all, for them to put their plan into action they would need a locate another village- Maybe even a proper town- as their usual haunting could barely feed themselves most days; if they set it into motion there Jaeger had no doubts the town would find themselves starving within a month, "though my work may require that I be away from Home longer than normal."

Amber orbs blinked at them once, then twice before, "You got promoted?"

"...Sure, let's call it that."

* * *

"Mister Thief, why do you keep insisting on calling me ' _child_ ' and ' _Little One_ '? I've already told you my name is Helga," A rather adorable pout twisted onto her face as the brunette turned to better face the room's other occupant, "Say it with me Hel-ga."

"And I've told you my name is Jaeger. Jae-ger."

"But I like Mister Thief, it makes you sound like one of those villages in the Legends and stories."

"Do I look a villigent to you?"

A golden brow rose as golden eyes stared down at the fidgetting brunette, "...Well, maybe... If you started wearing a disguise-"

"No."

"But-"

"Not happening."

"Oh," Jaeger granted the younger the best smile they could manage, "Why didn't you say so? In that case, " Only to drop it in favor of narrowed eyes and a dead, hollow tone, "Absolutely not."

"But if the enforcers see your face they shall know who you are," Helga tried to reason causing the golden-eyed man to grant her a flat, unamused look.

"If the Enforcers see my face they'll either run away screaming or try sending me to Hell."

"I don't want you to go to Hell!"

"Its a bit late for that," Jaeger mumbled softly as their mind drifted the last couple of months consisting of their ' _life_ ' causing confused amber orbs to focus on them, "Huh?"

"Nothing...What was that about a disguise again?"

"Remember," Jaeger speaks softly as they kneel down so their visible golden eye could stare into the child's amber orb _\- Had Helga not actually needed those bandages, Jaeger would have found her attempts at mimicking their disguise rather adorable. Instead, they found themselves seriously contemplating making one last 'personal' visit to their old Haunting Grounds-_ causing the brunette to straighten in mock attention, "Do not answer the door for anything. There's leftover fish in the storeroom if you get hungry. If for whatever reason, you find yourself scared you can lock yourself in our room... Unless there's a fire, then I expect you to head to the hollowed oak by the stream."

The small brunette nods her head while her bandages shifted slightly; unable to hide the smile forming beneath.

Faintly amused, Jaeger pushes their body back into a standing position as a bronze hand swiftly ruffling her hair electing a cry of protest from the younger though they're out the door and halfway into the forest before she can finish.

"Be careful, Mister Thief!" Her voice echoes after them causing the corner of their bandages to tilt upwards slightly before their mind registers her words.

"...She's never going to use our name, is she?"

If Jaeger was honest, they were a Selfish person.

From an outsiders point of view, their actions very well may have seemed noble or as a random act of kindness- _After all they had rescued a child, even if she had to ask first-_ but it wasn't.

Kidnapping a child- _Yes, Kidnapping. They would not lie to themselves concerning their actions_ \- hadn't been out of the faux kindness of their lifeless heart but rather out of a selfish need to soothe the aching guilt residing within their Soul while supplying themselves with a purpose- _They needed a reason, any reason, to force themselves not to crawl back into their grave once more-_ to continue forward.

Maybe it was wrong of them- They were using a child and her abstract hopes for their own personal interest- but to be honest...

They **didn't** care.

They knew their actions were selfish and immoral. They knew those actions could very well have long-term consequences that could _\- would_ \- very well shape the child as she grew yet all they could see was their own agenda.

They _needed_ Helga and for that reason alone they stole her, but even if they were using her to further their own goals; that didn't mean they would treat her as though she was expendable. Instead, they would treat this as a rather unique debt and grant her childish wish to the best of their capabilities as payment.

She had plenty of experience at raising children not her own _so what was one more?_

Though to do that they would need a steady income of money and supplies which was why Jaeger found themselves pulling off what might as well be the biggest three plan heist of this day and age. In laymen terms, their plan is rather simple:

Part One was for the long run and would be their most honest of the three.

Though it took time and a great deal of practice, Jaeger found they had a rather talented skill when it came to woodcarving; while they could use some perfecting was decent enough to market and so market it they would. Only, instead of requesting money they would make small trades such as seeds, potatoes, and clipping of other things they could plant, grow and eventually harvest with time.

While they knew with time this would be enough, they also knew time was something Helga lacked _\- she needed proper food and she needed it now- as_ the child couldn't very well survive off of barely seasoned fish and berries for a half a year or more until the harvest was ready.

And thus, Part Two of their Masterplan was born.

Part two was more under the table than business aspect of Part One as it would involve the constant use of thievery, the selfish nature of men and strict

If there was one thing Jaeger had learned throughout their life- _both of them_ \- it was that humanity was _selfish_. No matter what they had, they always wanted more- _wither it be family, fortune or little things that caught their interest-_ especially when they were denied access to it.

That was where they would come in.

They would steal from newly imported shipments- _compared to the time period and technology of her portion of their memories, it wasn't all that difficult_ \- before the staff had a chance to take stock. Then they would go to another town and sell the items at a slightly cheaper value.

If everything went according to their plan, humanity would once more show one of its faults- _the uncontrollable need to brag and show off_ \- that would help spread the word of their little ' _business_ ' in the shadier districts.

Part Three was, in all honesty, the simplest of the three-part plan: Purchasing livestock, medicine, and other supplies with their ill-gained money.

It also happened to be the easiest of their three new ' _jobs_ ' as people didn't care where the currency came from just so long as it ended up in their hands and not a competitor's. To be honest, it was probably for the best neither of them had high expectations of society as a whole otherwise it would have dropped a great deal more than their coin purse's weight after their first shopping spree.

" _Mister Thief?"_

Yes, Helga?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course," Jaeger responded automatically as confused golden eyes peered upwards so to bore into concerned ambers, "Why do you ask that?"

"Because...You Just nailed your hand to the floor..."

"Ah, is that all...Wait, What?!"

* * *

"Do you know how I am?"

...

"Do you know where you are?"

...

Do you even know who you are?"

Once more silence was his only answer as dull, lifeless eyes slowly tracked his every step like a lion stalking its prey.

Another day, another _bitter_ Failure.

Though he would never voice it aloud, at times like this; Bermuda found himself grateful Jaeger's body had been stolen from The Veckenschtein Family Crypt before he could reach it to revive His Fallen Comrade- _for that, he would grant the thief's a quick death instead of a slow, agonizing one-_ as dark eyes bore into the feral, humanoid creature that had once been his Rain.

Obvious to say, something had gone wrong- _he must have miscalculated or overlooked something-_ for the moment silver eyes had torn themselves open, the creature- _for he could no more call that thing Alejandro than he could claim it human_ \- had lunged forward and attempted to tear out his throat in a blind fury right then and there.

The blue-haired creature manages all of two steps before collapsing as _-Despite Bermuda's best efforts to preserve their remains, Aleandro had been dead and slowly rotting for all of two whole years.-_ the creature's legs couldn't support itself. Still, that didn't stop it from trying to claw its way across the crypt to continue its self-given mission.

Honestly, Bermuda had found the sight rather pitiful to the point he was half tempted to terminate the other right then and there _\- while not the strongest of them, Alejandro had been an Arcobaleno, One of the Seven Strongest People in the World; and now the once proud Dollmaker had been reduced to this mindless creature struggling upon the floor like a worm. Had the other had a stable state of mind he probably would have demanded his Death right then and there_ \- but Bermuda found he was a selfish person.

 _I could fix this_ , he told himself even as his black flames twisted into chains _. He would fix this, he had too_. Yet here he stood, twelve months _\- a whole year_ \- later with an undead corpse hidden within his Manor that only seemed to have two moods to it:

 _Dull and Lifeless_ or a _Raging Inferno of Unholy Fury._

It was frustrating to the point all he wanted to do was tear the creature into pieces if only to gain another reaction from it, yet he managed to keep himself from doing so. He couldn't afford to render his efforts useless, not when he could be so close to solving this... _Issue_.

And he would solve it for he was Bermuda von Veckenschtein, and everyone knew Veckenschteins always came out on top _\- One way or another, they would always get what they wanted-_ this would be no different.

 _They officially hate snow,_ Jaeger decided as they trudged forward so not to lose track of the overexcited child as she rushed about as laughter drifted on the wind.

First of all, the stuff was everywhere and though they couldn't feel it- _thankfully_ \- it often tended to seep beneath their bandages and into rather ' _unfortunate_ ' places which, more often than not; tended to be rather difficult to thaw out. _Both of them had been accused of being cold-hearted before- Her own mother had once gone so far as to accuse her of being a 'heartless being incapable of loving anything or anyone' - but neither of them had considered the issue would become so literal._

Then there was Helga.

Unlike them, she could feel the cold and could very well get sick _\- a nightmare just waiting to happen to see as this time period's lack of proper medicines and treatments led to a high death rate where even the common cold could be deadly_ \- yet she constantly insisted on playing with the endless white participates as often as she could manage; while brushing off their concerns everytime they took a moment to voice them.

"Mister Thief, hurry up!"

Sighing softly, Jaeger could only shake their head in exasperation when Helga spun on heel to flash them a bright smile as ambers orbs danced with concealed mischief.

"I'm coming."

Though neither of them was sure why. They had no business today and their greatest plans before this had only been to try their hand at chopping wood once more- _this time they would be more careful when heaving to axe so they didn't lose their balance and end up timbering like a fallen tree again_ \- before their mischievous child had requested a bit of their time.

"But you're so slow," Helga whined causing them to roll their golden eyes. One day, that child would be the death of the-

THUD!

"Mister Thief!"

"We're going to give poor Helga a heart attack."

"It couldn't be helped as we had no way of knowing this was to occur today."

To be honest, this wasn't the first time their body had experienced a 'shut down' nor was it the first time the two had found themselves trapped within this endless abyss as they waited for it to 'reboot' but this was the first time it had happened in front of another person.

Still...He had a point, She decided as slender fingers fiddled ideally with the softly glowing chain keeping her attached to the only other being who existed in their personal 'Waiting Room'.

To be honest, neither of them were sure what this place really was; but they had plenty of theories.

The first time they found themselves here, Jaeger had been of the personal belief Death had grown bored of toying with them and this was Hell. She, on the other hand, had swiftly shot down the other's idea seeing as there was a rather startling lack of fire and brimstone; not to mention- 'If this is Hell, where's ole Luci?'- anything besides themselves and the 'nice little necklace' which prevented them from straying more than five feet from one another.

Her theory, on the other hand, took more time to piece together but she felt like it reasonable:

This void, this endless abyss, was their self conscious.

Logically, it made sense.

Their body had shut down, leaving their minds trapped inwards and despite having a shared mind, body and soul; they were both self-aware thus granting them separate bodies while the chain represented the connection they could not sever.

There were a couple more theories, as neither of them held all the information on the matter and therefore couldn't completely agree on something like this.

"How long do you think we'll be here this time?"

"However long it'll take."

"So," She trails off as she tries to find the right words to say, "I've been thinking-"

" **Don't,"** He speaks bluntly as his arms cross over his chest as though to protect him from whatever madness her mind has indulged in, " **Its safer for everyone if you leave such tasks to others."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" She questions while crossing her arms over her chest- trying her utmost best to give off the air of an annoyed adult instead of a pouting child- only to be granted a blank, unamused looked, " **The last time we used one of your ideas we created a Black Market."**

"It worked, didn't it?"

Sure it wasn't exactly the moral thing to do, but last she checked morals didn't keep a person from starving or freezing to death; so she discarded them. A heavy sigh- one she recognizes from the many times she prayed for the patients- was his only response.

Returning to the Physical World was just as they remembered it: _Dull and Boring._

Unlike their mind, their body was slow to wake; taking a great deal of time and effort to even reach the point they twitch a finger let alone pry open what might as well have been titanium eyelids. So they spent a great deal of time- _the sunlight had fallen from their face three times in a roll-_ listening to their surroundings: _The howl of the wind, the slight creaking of a new room under heavy snowfall, the soft creaking of the floorboards beneath bare feet, soft humming and the gentle clinks of a pot being used to prepare another days meal._ Seeing as they had yet to hear frantic whispers or screaming, Jaeger could only assume Helga had somehow managed to drag their useless corpse home...

It was a rather useless gesture, to be honest, but if that was the case they would have to see about getting or making her a present in thanks. _What could they say? It was relieving not having to worry about the wildlife feasting on their flesh while they were venerable._

On, what they assume to be the fifth day; they managed to gather enough strength to pry their eyes open to the sun.

 _Home_ , the first thing they notice upon forcing their eyes open, Helga _\- that small frail child-_ had somehow managed to drag them home. To be honest, nothing has really changed though they had to admit the frantic child about to land on them was a new one...

 _Wait a minute-_

 **Crack!**

 **"Mister Jaeger!"**

For a moment, golden eyes stared blankly at the ceiling- _for once thanking Death for the incapability to feel pain otherwise that rib piercing their lungs would likely be rather painful-_ before their mind registered her words causing golden eyes to slowly glance downwards at brunette clinging to their waist like an extra shadow.

"Did you just use my name?"

"Huh," Innocent amber orbs blinked at them with a hint of confusion, "What are you talking about Mister Thief?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _They're surrounded by simpletons, Jaeger decided as golden eyes peered over the books they had 'borrowed' from the Town School._

 _Seriously? If this was the best 'modern' day society had to offer it was a miracle they were still alive seeing as their 'education program' was looking rather suspiciously like one of those religious brainwashing pamphlets meant to spread a church's influence while turning the people into mindless sheep._

 _Then there was the bit the could actually be considered 'educational'. The part that is Him knows this should be difficult- that he shouldn't understand a word of what he's seeing- but with the pieces of her memories..._

 _Well, to be honest; Its ridiculously easy._

 _"Home Schooling it is," They mumble softly as the book snaps shut._

They officially hate _'Festivals_ , Jaeger decides as they silently make their way through the sea of bodies gather for the _'Blessed'_ event and the bell-like laughter of children echoes through the air. To be honest, they don't want to be here. They could care less about the _'Witches'_ and _'Devil Spawn'_ receiving their _'Just dues'_ but the filth seemed to have consumed the town to the point they couldn't attend to their business without stumbling across one scene or another.

It's disgusting but at the same time they know: _This is the way of **His** World._

For as long as he could remember Humanity had been divided and more than willing to Damn each other for anything and everything they could think of- _Religion, Superstition, Skin Color, Religion, Status, and Class-_ so the _'Festival'_ doesn't really bother him. For him, this is just another Tuesday.

She is _**not** _as accepting.

Don't get the wrong assumption, she was no Saint _\- there was too much blood on her hands for that_ \- as she had willingly Damned herself some time ago but even she- _whose own mother considered her heartless, who was all but drowned in ghosts and baptized in their blood for the sake of Queen and Country_ \- had morals. She had a limit on what she found herself willing to accept...

The Slaughtering of children was **not** on that list.

So the moment they catch sight of a man dragging a redhead child- _who could be no more than six summers_ \- through the crowd and towards the pyres, they follow without a moment's hesitation. She cannot save everyone- _she knows that better then anyone_ \- but she would be damned if she just stood by without saving even one.

 _Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan; He could acknowledge that- it was just another fact of life as far as he was concerned- but..._

 **I thought you were only going to take one.**

 _I changed my mind,_ She whispers in response to the silent accusation while their physical body herds the children further into the forest so to place more space between themselves and the inferno blazing behind them.

 **I do hope you shall not make a habit of this** , he grumbles softly. After all, constantly burning villages down was sure to catch the sort of attention they really didn't need.

 _Oh, lighten up; I only burned down half the village._

As if _**that** _made it any better.

 _Disgusting._

 _This was a scene of death, of unrighteous murder, and yet it seemed more like a festival- the air was light. Full of laughter from the playing children, cheers from the drunken and shewed language from the rest- then a burning of the innocent._

 _Which apparently wasn't only limited to adults._

 _Bermuda could feel the scowl twisting onto his face as he watched a child- who could be no more than six summers at the most- be dragged through the crowd and towards one of the stakes along the edge of the platform._

 _And now they're burning children, he thinks bitterly as he pays for his purchase, Did Humanity have no moral ground left to stand upon? The answer was rather clear to Bermuda even before they lowered the torch onto the child's pyre._

 _He should have left by then- he was already behind schedule-and watching the superstitious coward as it cheered and jeered over a child damned to die left him feeling sick; yet just as he was about to leave a cry of inhumane rage pierced through the air._

 _If Bermuda's honest, he's not quite sure what happened. One moment there had been a cheering crowd burning a child and the next that inhumane noise had filled the air followed by screams as bodies were rapidly thrown aside like a child's ragdoll to make a clear path for the Child's Pyres._

 _In a matter of seconds, Chaos reigned supreme._

 _Even when he tries, Bermuda finds he can't see anything worthwhile as the villagers rushed about like headless chickens; pushing and shoving each other to the ground in hopes at ensuring their own survival. Then he finally caught sight of the Source of this ... 'Disturbance': a tall man wearing a heavy traveling cloak with a hood- right as it jumped into the flames of the Child's Pyre. For a moment he wonders if its the child's parent but those thoughts find themselves banished to be nothing more than ghosts as the figure leaves the flames moments later._

 _That was not a man. Instead, standing before the crowd -clutching the child wrapped inside a traveling cloak- was a corpse._

 _A corpse, the child's savior was a corpse; but not just any corpse. He knew those exotic golden eyes, that decaying caramelized skin, those wavy locks of raven feather hair._

 ** _"Jaeger?!"_**

 _For a moment, Bermuda would swear golden eyes flickered his direction before the tall corpse pulled the child closer to his chest and darted into the mass of frantic guards and panicking villagers._

 _And just like that, the corpse was gone._

 _Despite the Guards- His- best efforts the golden-eyed 'demon' had vanished without a trace; It would almost as though it had never even existed if half the village wasn't burning down and all the children suddenly missing..._

 _Though he doesn't show it to the world, Bermuda feels as though someone has just punched him in the gut before tearing the rug out from beneath his feet._

* * *

 _Jaeger couldn't help but sigh as caramelized hands paused in the midst of hammering new shingles in place and golden eyes glanced towards the ground below where a mass of children was at play._

 _To be honest, she's not really sure how she should feel on the matter concerning the young one. On one hand, she was pleased to have saved so many while granting them a proper chance to be actual children but on the other hand-_

 **We can't keep them.**

 _-There was that._

 _He's being nothing but honest, she knows that; but at the same time-_

 _An assortment of dirty faces flutters across their mind: small smiles accompanied by soft laughter and eyes too old for their bodies, Jaded yet Naïve, Cautious yet too Trusting, a small village, a children's home, Smoke, Fire, Ashes falling from the sky like a blanket of fresh snow, the metallic scent of copper, the earth stained crimson, the soft creak of a branch as a small body swings in the breeze_

 _-She refused to give the children up until she was absolutely certain they would be safe._

 _She would not permit herself to make that same mistake twice._

If Jaeger was to be honest, they weren't the type to regret- _there was no point in wallowing over 'what ifs' or 'could have been'_ \- no matter what decisions they choose; but at this rate...

 **"KEKEKEKE!"**

Well, He found himself truly wishing she had left that rouge haired Demon disguised as a child to burn on a pyre as caramelized fingers attempted to pry tree sap from Helga's curls only to somehow make the situation even worse- _How they managed to relocate a portion of the mess into their own hair despite their hands never once straying towards their face was a mystery Jaeger wasn't quite sure they wished to solve_ \- for both himself and what he would now officially dub as His Favorite Child.

"Right, new plan." Jaeger mumbles as their fingers release the captive locks causing watery amber orbs to glance upwards at them with a hint of distraught, "You shall not have to cut away my hair, shall you?"

"I'll attempt to leave that as a resort," Jaeger promises though its more in hopes of stopping the tears that had yet to fall, "Though if it comes to that, I shall personally remove Jack's as well."

It was only fair, seeing as the rouge haired child was the source of Helga's dilemma.

" **KEKE** \- Wait, what?!"

 _"Jack," Jaeger speaks slowly as golden eyed peered towards the rouge haired child who's face was rapidly beginning to resemble his hair, "You do realize a snare is meant to capture prey with, not to ensnare yourself; right?"_

 _As they watch a scowl twists onto the child's crimson face as he once more vainly attempted to reach the rope caught snuggly around his ankle, "Just get me down from here!"_

* * *

 _We're never bringing Jack on another shopping trip again, She decided as golden eyes watched the rouge haired child almost set some poor merchant on fire._

 _Sighing softly, Jaeger permitted themselves to glance towards the ceiling- almost as though praying for the patients not to murder the rouge menace then and there- before a bandaged hand darted out only to snag the back of the rouge's shirt when he attempted to rush by them, "_ **Enough."**

 _"But Jaeg-"_

 _"_ **No** _," They speak bluntly so to cut off whatever migraine including excuse the rouge could possibly come up with, "_ **I have no wish to hear your excuses, Jack. Either stand next to me or go sit in a corner until our business is finished."**

 _"You do not understand," For a moment crimson orbs glanced away from their face- glancing at something that was hidden out of the taller's sight- before shifting into a whisper, "we are being fo-"_

 _"I know." Both of them had felt the gaze on their back the moment entered the town but as of yet it's owners had neglected to do anything more than observing from a distance so there was no need for such a blunt distraction, "Just... Act natural, Jack," Panicking would only draw attention and possibly force their companions to act out whatever plans they held sooner rather than later, "And when the chance presents itself, slip away into the crowd and get Helga. I want both of you to head home early today."_

 _Feeling both slighted and insulted, Jack opens his mouth- most likely to protest or ever offer his assistance. After all, child or not he was still a man and men did not flee from danger- only for his voice to falter upon noticing the gleam within those hard golden eyes._

 _For a moment, the rouge couldn't help but feel as though staring a Demon from the depths of Hell itself in the face- there was something wrong, unnatural, dangerous even about that expression and it didn't help the white of the other's eyes had turned pitch black- so its more of a 'Fight or Flight' instinct that has the rouge stumbling backward in an attempt to place distance between him and the creature that could not possibly be Jaeger._

 _Then he blinks- his eyes had only closed for less than half a second- but by time Jack glances back towards the taller man, Jaeger- the Jaeger he had grown used to and not that split second demon- was ideally chatting away with the merchant once more._

 _"What the hell?"_

"We should just kill them and be done with it," Jaeger mumbled to themselves as cold eyes stared down at the would-be bandits who had the misfortune of attempting to target them only to shake their head a moment later, **"We should turn them over to the Enforcers."**

"They threatened the children."

 **"Than break a couple of bones as a warning then hand them to the Enforcers."**

"Or I can kill them, therefore ensuring they can never so much as breathe of me and mine, before throwing them into a shallow grave."

To an outsider they probably would have looked mad- _standing in the middle of a dirty alleyway taking to themselves while trying to decide exactly how to deal with the annoyances that threatened their makeshift family-_ and to be honest, they probably were. Their sanity had been throw out the window the moment they died only to met fictional characters that weren't so fictional, encountered that bastard Death and then woke only to find themselves sharing the same mind and body of which had once been- _and still was_ \- his corpse.

 **"Or you can start listening to your elders."**

"I did that once," She admits as their lips twitch upwards slightly in amusement, "I then broke his nose not even five minutes later."

For a moment, he could actually see it:

 ** _A bleach blonde man with frantic blue eyes shouting something at a woman's back- both of which he notices appear to be wearing similar uniforms- only for her to ignore his ranting. He could all but feel the fury building beneath her skin with every unheard word before a pale hand attempts to grab her shoulder. Its a mistake on his part as the dark-haired woman to use the momentum to spin on heel with a raised fist._**

 ** _CRUNCH!_**

 ** _Distinctly the woman is aware she's likely to face either Court Marshalling or the Brig for this, but she doesn't care- Its not his friends, his family, he wanted to leave for dead out there- so she draws back her fist once more._**

Shaking their head to rid them of the memory attempting to surface, He couldn't help but sigh as he barely resisted the urge to bang their head through a wall out of sheer frustration and to think She was _His_ Counterpart- _a younger, female version of himself..._

 **"Alejandro must have been a saint,"** He grumbles softly. After all, the blue-haired man had known Him since he was but a toddler and somehow managed not to kill him after all those years.

 _The Universe was laughing at him, of that Bermuda was certain as dark eyes stared blankly as a man dressed in bandages and a heavy traveling cloak dragging several unconscious bandits right pass him. After all, what else could it be when he had spent the last six months all but turning every town, village, and stone he could get his hands on in hopes of finding the man turned corpse- though it had been a constantly vain gesture- only to have the taller walk right by him just moments after the Veckenschtein Lord had verbally given up?_

 _For a moment, all Bermuda can do is stand there as his mind fully registers what his eyes see before the dark-haired Lord finds his feet slamming on the dirt road in an attempt to catch up with the other._

 _Hopefully, the golden-eyed corpse didn't attempt to feast upon his 'prey' -like Alejandro had done the one time the blue-haired man had managed to escape from his room- before The Night Arcobaleno could catch up._

It was going to be a long night, Jaeger decided when they finally took notice of the extra shadow- they would never have noticed had their feet not halt for a moment only for the soft noise of sand shifting beneath soles to continue filling the night air- stalking through the town's empty streets.

Honestly, they find it annoying- was there some sort of universal sign on their back that everyone but them could see?- as all they currently desired was to rid themselves of their unnecessary luggage before heading home.

Unfortunately, that would have to wait as some Deity out there- most likely that bastard Death- was obviously conspiring against them-

 _ **"Jaeger!"**_

-and that just proved it.

 _After all, everyone He once knew was dead- either by the hands of time or the creature dubbed as Checkerface- therefore; no one besides two children should have known their name._

* * *

 _ **Bonus: Her World**_

Life was fickle, a rouge haired man of twenty-three summers decided as he stared upon the open casket before him; One moment it was there- _as bright as the sunlight shining into the solemn room-_ and the next it was gone like a shadow in dawn's first light.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She had been a fighter- _a survivor_ \- who had lived through War, Betrayal, even Hell on Earth with that faint smile on her face and for what? So a bunch of drunken children could accomplish what hundreds of other's couldn't?

So she could drown on her own blood in some muddy ditch not even five minutes away from her own home?

If the man known as Ian Haxton was honest, That was what he was having the most issues accepting as he had known her all his life and She wasn't the sort to just lay down and die-

 _She had stayed strong when her older brother had disappeared at fourteen, She had been stubborn when her mother had passed away at sixteen, She had been determined when she signed up for the forces next to him that very winter._

 _She never allowed that small smile of her's to fade when they were dragged into war at seventeen, and she had been outright spiteful when she when Jeason had emptied his handgun into her back when he showed his true loyalty and how deep betrayal could run as 'sometimes the best revenge is to live'._

 _She had stayed firm when they been recruited for that 'Special Taskforce' at nineteen and didn't waver once despite the hell they had witnessed first hand these last four years._

-to just give up so thoroughly on what she held close.

Yet there was: _'Sleeping'_ inside that wooden box.

He wants to laugh- _where had that fire gone? How could it have been extinguished so much that she would just lay there and die like a dog after all this time_ \- but he can't. If he opens his mouth, the rouge was certain he would curse her with every bit of foul language- _and in every language, he knew_ \- for just leaving the way she did and if he did that...

 _Well, knowing her; She would probably crawl out of hell itself to kill him for traumatizing her precious little sister while holding the child's hand._

And there lied the other issue:

The rouge had always suspected she was missing a few screws- _how could he not?-_ but he never once suspected She had been Mad enough to Will a child to a group of trained killers. Sometimes, he wonders what had been going through her head, but it's too late to ask now and he- _they_ \- couldn't turn away the child for the little one was all that was left of one of Their Own.

So he does the only thing he can, the only thing left for him to do. Tightening his hold on the child's hand, Ian tries to ignore the heavy sobbing which racks through their small body in favor of guiding them forward:

It was time to say Goodbye.

 _Either they were Cursed or someone was specifically targeting His Taskforce; a dark-haired man known only as 'Sephtis' decided as void filled eyes stared into the open casket before him._

 _Maybe had it just been one or two of his operatives every other month the soulless eyed man would have considered the possibility of an 'accidental Death' but...This was the fourth casket containing a member of His Taskforce he had found himself glazing into within the last twelve days._

 _Four separate 'accidents', four open caskets, four mangled corpses..._

 _There was a saying that 'Once was a happenstance. Twice was a coincidence. Three times is enemy action.' Going by that logic, Sephtis could only conclude that Four must be an open declaration of war._

 _Unfortunately, knowing that didn't solve anything but rather left more questions then answer: The matter of Who and Why being his main concerns._

 _Sure, they had many enemies- no one did what they did for a living and didn't acquire a few dozen enemies- that would love nothing more than to grant each and every one of them an agonizing death but no one outside the Taskforce knew who actually belonged to it unless you were a part of it._

 _Which could only mean there was a traitor in their midst. Someone- one he had hand-chosen and called his own- had betrayed their makeshift 'family' and was giving away his operatives like they were spare change._

 _The thought left a bitter taste in the soulless eyed man's mouth but he dared not dismiss it. He couldn't- four corpses. Four people who once had names: Raeyvn Crowley, Destiny Winters, Jazz Ragini, Romanova Vladimirovna. Four companions who had placed every shattered piece of themselves into his hands and trusted him enough to permit him to rebuild them as he saw fit.- otherwise he might as well have slit his fallen comrades' throats himself._

 _He doesn't bother glancing away from the corpse as soft footsteps come to a halt beside him; he doesn't need to. There's only the two of them here now._

 _"Commander..." The blue-haired man's voice is soft and full of grief for a close friend that had been all but family, "Your orders?"_

 _For a moment, he just stares in silence before finally rounding on heel and heading for the sole exit, "Bury the casket. Preserve the body with the others. "_

 _Though he wasn't certain how he would do it, Sephtis was going to fix this _; even if he had to steal their souls from Death himself.__


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _If they were honest, neither He or She ever considered themselves a coward. While hey had their disagreements on how to handle certain matters both of them fully conceded that running away from one's problems never solved anything. If anything it would only create more complications- resulting in endless headaches and sleepless hours- further down the road._

 _So why, Jaeger couldn't help but wonder as they all but flew through a maze of filthy cobblestone alleyways, were they doing so now?_

 _Left, right, right, jump an iron gate than an immediate left, straight, up a ladder, jump several rooftops and slide down the thick ivy growing up a three-story building._

 _"Jaeger, wait!"_

 _Oh right... They had almost forgotten about him. Honestly, had they not been the one the man was pursuing, Jaeger might have considered themselves impressed with the man's stubbornness. Unfortunately, seeing as they currently held the man's attention, the only thing Jaeger could think of was showing off their rather impressive and colorful choice of vocabulary._

 _"Jaeger,_ _ **Stop**_ _!"_

 _For a brief moment, they actually pause- almost tripping over their own feet upon the sudden halt- as a sudden nonexistent weight crashes down on them. It's a strange feeling to be honest- Familiar yet foreign, soft yet harsh, warm yet as cold as the abyss- that confounds them more than either of them cared to admit. On one hand, they wanted to run and get the hell out of dodge while they could but that weight- that icy warmth so much like a fire- was constantly beckoning them like a moth to a flame._

 _If truth be told, they find the whole ordeal to be rather frustrating._

 _They were the undead- a living corpse of all things- and yet someone still had the nerve to chase them up and down the street like a wanna-be Jack the Ripper. Then as if that wasn't enough, their stalker seemed to have some sort of bait that kept screwing with their head..._

 _Honestly, Jaeger couldn't help but sigh as they resisted the urge to start pulling on their hair, whatever happened to the good old days where people ran away from the undead while screaming their everloving heads off?_

 _Taking a breath they didn't require, Jaeger squared their shoulders- They had wanted to avoid drawing too much attention but seeing as running wasn't working and they held no intentions of leading the other to their home; they would just have to install a fear of God into the stubborn bastard- before turning to face their extra shadow._

 _It was a joke._

 _A sick joke made in terrible humor that couldn't possibly be real. It had to be as He refused to accept this could possibly be reality._

 _"Jaeger."_

 _The man speaks softly- almost as though he's talking to a feral dog about to attack and now that its not screaming at them He wonders how he never recognized that voice before- as he takes a step closer causing the golden-eyed corpse to take three back as those soulless black eyes follow their every step like a predator fully aware it had finally cornered its prey._

 _He.. No, They're not ready for this confrontation; so they take another step backward in an attempt to place more space between themselves and the sick joke playing out before them._

 _"Don't," The man speaks as he takes a step closer- they wonder if their need to flee somehow shines through their bandages and thick traveling cloak- finally stepping into the faint moonlight._

 _Instead, standing before them is a man straight out of Jaeger's memories- a man with pale moonlight skin, raven feather hair and soulless black eyes that might as well have been plucked from the abyss itself. Its a man he has not seen in such a form since the day they were originally cursed to be Arcobaleno some fifty years ago- known solely as Bermuda von Veckenschtein and_ _ **WHY THE HELL WASN'T HE AN INFANT?!**_

 _Her second thought was a rather simple: Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope. She was no ready for this and judging by the soft mumble of agreement, neither was He._

 _It's too much- too much far too soon- for them._

 **'Run.'**

If God existed, the Deity either abhorred their very existence or was a complete sadist who relished in the suffering of others...

Well, either that or they were completely insane and screwed whatever unfortunate soul that caught their attention- _much like themselves-_ over just for the hell of it. After all, how else could anyone explain the fact they had just woken on what was likely a cold, dirty floor with a _migraine_ of all things? An _'I just had a nine-inch nail hammered into my head_ ' migraine...

' _Someone is screwing with us.'_

She rumbles softly in the back of their mind and He can only agree. How could he not? They were a _corpse_. They didn't feel pain- _something that caused them more than a few issues while working around their 'Home'-_ let alone had the capability of obtaining a migraine. Yet, despite everything, they had somehow managed to do so anyway.

 _'Its a talent.'_

If that was the case, it was a ' _talent_ ' he could really do without; He decides as he forces their eyes open _\- They must have had another 'attack' while they were unconscious as it takes more effort then He cares to admit even with Her aid_ \- only to be greeted by darkness illuminated by a meager fissure in lustrous stone.

 **'You have to be kidding me.'**

Despite their first belief, they had not been discarded on the floor like dirty laundry- _oh, but how they wish they had been-_ instead they had been discarded right back into their own cist as though they had never even left.

It's frustrating in all honesty. They had left for a reason- _Their body was a corpse but that didn't mean they wanted to spend all their time rotting in their grave_ \- and neither appreciated being returned like a faulty package. Unfortunately for the ' _Sender_ ', this package had legs and no intentions of sticking around any longer than they absolutely had to.

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

Alright so maybe leaving wasn't as easy as they first assumed it would be- _getting out of their cist was easy enough with all things considered-_ but how were they supposed to know someone had seen fit to move their casket into some type of underground maze that was meant to be a dungeon.

 _'We're lost.'_

 **'We're not lost-'**

 _'Right,'_ She deadpanned as she felt their eye twitch _, 'And I'm guessing that skeleton is just magically transporting itself to us since this is the fourth time we've walked past it.'_

 **'-just misplaced.'**

' _Oh, in that case; please continue.'_ She spoke in a pleasant tone and though He couldn't see it, He had all but hear the gentle smile gracing twisted onto her lips, _'Though if you continue to take a left at this upcoming corner, I'm going to break our legs just to spite you.'_

It wouldn't be easy, She knew that- _He had just as much control over this body as she did and wasn't likely to just float around in their mindscape while she managed to break their body even more than it already was_ \- but that didn't mean she wouldn't try. She was tired of roaming in circles within this endless maze and if breaking a few bones was all it took to free them of this repetitive cycles, then so be it.

Telling enough, when they finally reach the end of the corridor; He doesn't try to guide them down the left passageway but instead glides towards the right _\- and no, no matter what anyone else might claim: He was not scared of his alternative nor the diverse gore filled images she was broadcasting within their shared mind of the ways she could further mutilate their body. He just didn't feel like having to constantly be on guard or dragging their heavy carcass around the grimy floors. Honest_ \- without a moment's hesitation.

Squaring their shoulders, He couldn't help but mentally sigh as they walked further into the unknown **, 'Women.'**

 _'I heard that.'_

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

 _Its the screaming that eventually draws their attention- the banshee-like shrieks that bounces off cold stone only to echo within their head- which finally puts an end to their wanton drifting along the deserted halls._

 _It wasn't all that difficult finding the source of the screams but the moment laid eyes upon the scene- the stale scent of blood filling the air as a twisted but still familiar form gave a feral shriek of pain- their memories had chosen to overlap with reality. If Jaeger was honest, neither of them could tell if the creature was Her Ambrose or His Alejandro but it didn't matter to either of them; whether it be Ambrose or Alejandro the blue-haired creature was one of Their's and this man, this unknown, was obviously torturing him._

 _The moment their mind fully registered the scene before them, an enraged cry tore itself from their ruined throat as the golden-eyed corpse lunged towards the culprit- their subconscious demanding the blood of the bastard who dared to touch what was Their's- with murderous intentions._

 _It was official, Night Flames were the biggest known_ _ **cheat**_ _in this universe._ Jaeger scowled beneath their bandages as they attempted to stop spiraling out of control within the pocket dimension Bermuda had banished them to. It went without saying that neither of them was having much luck as their own momentum- _and the utter lack of gravity_ \- kept them sailing through the endless void without a hope of stopping _. Loop after loop after loop_. It never seemed to end and if they had to they would compare the experience to being on a never-ending roller coaster in the darkest depths of Hell.

After a while _\- it could have been anywhere between hours, days, months or even years for all they knew-_ They just stopped trying. It was obvious they weren't stopping anytime soon and all their attempts to force such an event only wore them out instead of producing results _. So why fight it?_

 **Crash!**

And then gravity decided to make its appearance.

For his sake, God had better be a complete maniac or they were going to kill him; Jaeger decided as tan hands pushed against the stone flooring so to prop themselves into a sitting position.

 _'I've got a bad feeling about this.'_

 **'I've noticed.'** It was hard not to seeing how he had that same _'Something is about to go horribly wrong'_ feeling building up in their chest since the moment Bermuda had banished them through the feeling seemed stronger now that they were free. It was all but deafening them with its constant screams to ' _Get out, Get out, Get out'._

If they could have, Jaeger would have been all to comply. Unfortunately- _Golden eyes glared down at the chains piercing through their flesh, muscles and bones which prevented them from rising any further than their knees-_ Bermuda had already taken precaution against such actions.

 _'Welp, 'we're screwed.'_

 **'Can't you be positive for a change?'**

 _'Alright, I'm_ _ **positive**_ _we're screwed.'_

 _The Flame of Night; an unholy Flame born out of Bermuda's hatred and spite, a Flame that defied the very laws of Life and Death. It was the flame that fueled the Vindice and would one day save the Arcobaleno. It was also one of the mysterious flames in this universe as even with their otherworldly knowledge Jaeger themselves only knew the bare basics considering the unique Dying Will Flame._

 _Usually, this lack of knowledge wouldn't really bother Jaeger, expect..._

 _Well, they weren't the only ones aboard the 'I only understand the bare minimum about Night Flames' express. It seemed that Bermuda himself barely held any true knowledge of his own flame- something they knew displeased the other- but unlike them, he actually had said Flame burning beneath his skin to experiment with. Nine times out of ten, Jaeger would have encouraged such behavior- as long as it didn't cross certain lines- as trail and error was an important part of one's growth; except this time She had been right in her previous assumption:_

 _They were screwed. So very, very screwed._

 _This thought is only further enforced as pale hands grip the side of their face before guiding their head upwards until their gaze holds the others. He's searching for something- those soulless eyes move slowly, taking in everything before them- but whatever it is; Bermuda obviously doesn't find it as a moment later a now familiar black fire ignites within his palms._

 _The moment the pitch black flame touches their skin They feel like someone is tearing their soul into millions of microscopic pieces-slowly ripping them into shreds once more, only this time they're not there will be enough pieces of them left for Death to put back together- once more. Neither of them are consciously aware long enough to hear the feral like scream that tears itself from their throat as the unholy fire continues to barrel beneath their flesh._

* * *

 _He's in Hell_ , of that the blue-haired corpse once known as Alejandro is certain. Ever since he had woken _\- in the darkness of a cold hollow crypt-_ all the blue-haired man had felt was this hollow emptiness- _Something was missing, something important, something vital to his very existence_ \- deep within his chest that constantly gnawed at him.

It _**hurts**_ _, Everything_ _ **hurts**_ _._ For a moment, it feels like he's dying again- _flesh peeling off his bones as he tried to hold onto what fragments of his Rain was left_ -and then he catches sight of Bermuda. He's not sure how former Cloud Arcobaleno is still alive- _let alone a grown man when the last time he saw the cloudy sky he had been but a toddler_ \- but maybe...

 _Maybe the other will just do him a favor and kill him?_ He tries to speak to request a mercy killing but all that leaves him a feral, inhuman sound _. Please, Please, Please;_ he repeats to himself like a mantra and for a moment he hopes the Soulless eye man can read his mind as the other takes a step forward, but it is in vain.

Bermuda does not kill him.

Instead the other brings him home and locks him in a familiar room was life-size dolls neatly stacked against every wall. It's His room and despite however long he had been dead, nothing had changed: Same aqua blue walls, same half full bookshelves scattered here and there, the same childhood painting sitting on his desk and his ' _Children_ ' were exactly how he left them. Once upon a time, this would have been enough to calm him; but not this time.

 _The pain is still there, the emptiness is still gnawing at him, that foreign fire in his soul is still_ _ **burning him alive**_ _from the_ _ **inside out.**_ For the most part, he tries to hold on- _He feels like he's going insane but he tries none the less-_ and then it all crashes down.

 _Curiosity was a dangerous thing._ Until that point of time, Bermuda had never restricted the maids from cleaning Alejandro's room; but now it was completely forbidden to them and everyone knew teenagers just couldn't resist the forbidden.

To be honest, Alejandro doesn't recall much about the maid who finally opens the door. Just that everything _hurt_ and she had that familiar blue fire beneath her skin that he so desperately needed to fill the empty void inside. Everything was a blur after that until the foreign fire grounds him back to reality by shredding further into his very soul _\- it's angry. So very, very angry_ \- until he finally surrenders his hold onto this world and permits the abyss to claim him once more.

He wakes in a cell in the catacombs beneath Veckenschtein Manor.

Time passes _\- days, weeks, months, maybe even years-_ and Bermuda, himself, is his only visitor. Alejandro tries to speak- _he tries to voice those few stray thoughts drifting within his clouded mind-_ despite have so much to say; he still cannot form words. _It's frustrating. So very, very frustrating._ He's not ' _mindless_ ' like Bermuda believes but **trapped** in a **never-ending Hell.**

 _Then everything changes once more._

Jaeger is suddenly there- _a corpse like himself and he wonders when Bermuda got the time to try again_ \- and he's furious. There is no doubt in Alejandro's mind that had Jaeger gotten his hands on their once sky _\- instead of being banished to only God knows where_ \- the golden-eyed corpse would have torn Bermuda to shreds. When he sees Jaeger again, the blue-haired corpse isn't all that surprised to find his childhood friend has been all but pinned to his knees like a moth to a board.

 _Had he been capable of it, Alejandro probably would have made a jest at the other's expense about how he always knew Bermuda preferred the golden-eyed man on his knees. He also would have been thrown out the nearest window only seconds later._ Just recalling those past moments of their lives causing the blue-haired man's lips to twist into a mockery of a smile despite his constant pain. _God, how he misses those days._

For the most part _\- Despite Bermuda focusing his attention more on their newest 'Guest'_ -nothing really changes as their once Sky seems determined to accomplish something with their corpses and that unholy fire, yet not everything is the same as before.

 **"-completely mad-"**

The first time he had heard the low mumble- _long after Bermuda had finished the day's 'session'_ \- Alejandro had believed himself insane. He knew that voice and he knew it well, but it should have been impossible.

 **"-Alejandro-"**

Then again, Jaeger never did believe in the impossible _\- claiming it as just another way of saying you didn't try hard enough while refusing to put any more effort into something- so why would he start obeying the unspoken laws now?_ Feeling something besides pain bubbling in his chest _\- excitement, eagerness maybe?-_ the blue haired corpse had tried to respond but could only manage a pitiful whimper. Jaeger didn't seem to notice or care though as he continued to talk _\- carrying on their one-sided conversation with practical ease._

Yet, despite how much Jaeger would talk when they were alone, the golden-eyed corpse refused to say a word in Bermuda's presence. Instead the other always seemed to get lost in his head when Their Once Sky was around _\- Death it appeared, had screwed them both over-_ causing Alejandro to worry about the other's state of mind as that wasn't the only time his childhood friend would zone out for hours on end.

Not that he was complaining. After all, Alejandro rather enjoyed being able to gnaw on the other's arm in peace- _Jaeger never seemed to mind as he neither complained nor tried to pull his arm away though Bermuda was another matter entirely-_ without the constant threat of the unholy fire or being nagged. _Truthfully, he wasn't trying to harm the other nor just gnawing on Jaeger's arm just to gnaw at it; but rather for the fire- that familiar warmth he would recognize anywhere- hiding behind those unholy black flames._

He wonders how Jaeger managed to hold onto those brilliant flames- _How the younger man had somehow managed to trick the Devil himself into believing he had stolen them all_ \- even in their current state _. Had they started out with such purity or had they been broken little ambers wavering in the darkness? Then again_ , Alejandro couldn't help but wonder as he paused in the midst of gnawing at the other's arm, _did it really matter? SoulFire or no SoulFire, Jaeger was Jaeger._

Nothing- _not even Death_ \- would ever change that.

 **'Achoo!'**

 _'I have the strangest feeling someone is talking about us...'_

* * *

 _"-you insane like me-"_

 **"Would you please stop singing that song?"**

 _"I know a song that-"_

 **"No."**

 _"Ninety-nine bottles of beer-"_

 _He was in Hell, the man who was once the sole owner to the name 'Jaeger' decided as golden eyes observed the dark-haired woman drifting over his head in their shared mindscape like one of those strange, always smiling cats- What were those creatures called again?- from portions of Her fragmented memories._

 _"I believe the term you're looking for is a Cheshire Cat," She discoursed softly as a single golden eye cracked open to stare down at him from behind a curtain of black silk, "and while I confess this place is rather dull; I wouldn't go so far to dub it 'Hell'."_

 _'We're not that lucky.'_

 _The unspoken thought drifts between them as though it had been screamed to the heavens and for all intents and purposes, it might as well as privacy was a luxury lost to the both of them._

 _Magic_.

The very idea makes him want to scoff, but he forces himself to keep a straight face as slender fingers carefully trace the ' _rune_ ' patterns within one of his mother's old tome.

If Bermuda was to be truthful, he feels ridiculous.

Even when he was a child _\- full of youth and innocence-_ the soulless eyed man had never believed in magic instead insisting the whole ' _Magic_ ' and ' _Witch Burnings_ ' was nothing more than a hoax to hide the obvious theft of land, status and wealth society committed in broad daylight. It had driven his beloved mother half-insane as he refused to believe in the fairytales she insisted was reality _: As far as he was concerned her so-called 'magic' was just a unique type of SoulFire that society shunned out of fear since they couldn't categorize-let alone control- it._

So he never bothered to listen to the ' _Rules_ ' his parents tried so hard to enforce and took great delight in breaking each and every one of them.

 _He wasn't like them. He wasn't satisfied staying within the glided cage society had built around them. He was_ _ **Free**_. Or at least, that's what he tricked himself into believing _\- He was never truly free, just given a bit more chain than the others_ \- and would have continued to do so had he not crossed paths with a golden-eyed man.

Bermuda doesn't bother to suppress the smile which finds itself at home on his face _\- there's no one here to see it after all-_ at those memories.

He had been out celebrating his fourteen birthday when they first meet _\- a proper man at a suitable age to wed by Society's standards_ \- with a group of acquaintances he was reluctant to call ' _friends_ '. They had spent a good number of hours making merry at the local tavern before his companions slowly started disappearing with young barmaids- _who seemed to be constantly pushing their breasts further up their shirts until they were almost spilling out-_ every so often until he was the only one left.

The soulless eyed teen had been half drunk and utterly annoyed with the barmaid - _who was being less than subtle-_ when a fifteen-year-old Jaeger and an eighteen-year-old Alejandro had entered the establishment.

Dark raven-feathered locks, sun kissed skin and sharp golden eyes made for a beautiful sight even in the taverns dim lighting. He had spent the next few hours of his life watching the two- _choosing to bluntly ignore the wanton woman trying to obtain his attention_ \- until the blue-haired man had parted ways from the younger in favor of accompanying a rather shy barmaid upstairs before Bermuda had finally enough of his bearings make his first expression upon his newest prey and unknown subject of affection.

It went without saying things didn't go the way he planned as inside of waking in his own bed with an extra body in his bed and a sense of satisfaction, Bermuda had woken alone with a black eye and a busted lip in one of the tavern's bedrooms.

 _It was the first time in his life that the Veckenschtein Heir had ever been denied something he wanted though it would not be the last as their second, third and fourth meetings had all ended the same as their first. Though things did change a bit on their fifth meeting. Sure, he still ended up with a split lip but he finally acquired a name to go with that pretty face- Even if his future Rain Guardian had only granted it to him onto to mess with the golden-eyed teen- he couldn't seem to get out of his head._

To this day, Bermuda would claim those years the best of his life- _Alejandro and Jaeger had so much to teach him about not only society- here where so many things happening underneath his very nose that he should have noticed but didn't until they forced his eyes open -but himself as well-_ before that Abomination had cursed them then stolen it all away from him.

 _This is for the best, Bermuda tells himself as soulless eyes peer into his reflection on the dagger's blade, They wouldn't- couldn't- feel anything._

 _Soon he would fix everything._

 _Even if he had become the Devil himself to do so._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 _She was bored._

 _There was only so much to do when their physical body was chained to the floor, Bermuda was off doing only God knows what for a change, and He was dozing the days away in the back of their shared mind._

 _A slight moment in the corner of their eye catches their attention causing their head to turns towards their cellmate. Though they know the other can't see it, Jaeger raises a brow upon finding Alejandro has somehow escaped his chains once more._

 _'Honestly,' She thinks to herself as the blue-haired corpse eased a little closer, 'His parents should have just bitten the bullet and named the guy Houdini.'_

 _Still...It gives her an idea._

 _"Alejandro," Their voice somehow seems even more hoarse than the day they dragged themselves out of the crypt yet it manages to draw the other's attention well enough, "How would you like to learn to talk with your hands?"_

He shut down.

He shut down and left Her alone with this psychopath.

...She can't really fault him for it. Even she, who had both first-hand experience and been trained to handle torture, wanted nothing more than to shut herself down most days; but she couldn't.

Not when she was holding both their lives in her hands. So she did what she did best when the universe decided to take another stab at her:

She gritted her teeth, she bared her fangs, and she held on out of sheer spite.

Still...It wasn't easy.

If anything, she feels like she's carrying the world on her shoulders as each day drags by- _she never quite realized how long the days were before then_ \- and slowly clips through the layers of sheer spite and 'Fuck You's she shielded herself within.

 _Hehe..._ She feels like she's tethering on the edge of an Abyss-

 _I'm fine._

 _Everything is fine._

-as shadowed hands try to drag her into the endless darkness waiting to consume her.

...Sometimes she tempted to let them.

 _Everything will be okay._

She's alone and she's so very tired, but she can't bring herself to surrender. If they wanted her, they were going to have to break every bone in her body then drag her down kicking and screaming the whole way.

 _It's okay._

 _I'll hold us together._

 _I won't let us fall._

It just wasn't her way- _her brother didn't raise her to give up without a fight-_ and not even this Bermuda lunatic could change that.

 _I'm fine._

So she Endures even as the knife cuts into their skin, even as their blood strains the stone floors, even as a pale hand reaches inside the open wound.

 _Nothing is wrong._

"I'm almost done."

The soft murmur leaves the Devil's lips as once pale hands, now besmirched by life's crimson ichor, constricts around a quiescent heart before cruel Black Fire flare to life once more.

 _I'm fine._

She feels like she's dying as the black fire burrows deep into their heart, their bones, their muscles, and organs. It agonizing- _to the point her mind blanks out for a moment and when it returns she's seeing black dots dancing across her vision_ \- but she just grits her teeth- _refusing to grant him the privilege of hearing them scream unless he actually worked for it-_ and endures.

Right until the black fire somehow reaches deeper inside them and rams right into their soul with the force of a freight train.

 _We're going to be okay._

She could feel it.

She could feel the Black Fire as it ruthlessly tore into their jigsaw puzzle of a soul. She could feel it as it tore apart the makeshift seams Death had created only to fill the void with its own being.

She could feel it as it tunneled deeper and deeper inside of their very essence as her own SoulFire fled deeper inside so not to be shredded or consumed by the darkness.

She **can't** breathe _. It was in her lungs; suffocating her as it replaced their oxygen with its rage and fury._

She **can't** see. _It was like there was a curtain between her and the world as a whole. One that hides all the light and happiness and replaces it with a hollow emptiness._

She could **barely** think. _It was hard to concentrate around the pain and sudden burst of emotions trying to consume them that she knew didn't belong to them._

She **can** feel. _All she could feel was an indescribable pain as their soul pulsed in agony, as their body raged against itself, as their skin seemed to slowly peel from their bones, as their Flames hid away from them in a desperate bid for survival._

 _Please. Someone, anyone,_ _ **MAKE IT STOP!**_

So she does the only thing she can do as Bermuda's Flames nestle deep into their core like an enraged dragon curled around its hoard:

 _I Promise._

She screams.

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

 _Alejandro was Her new favorite person,_ Jaeger decided as they rested their head against the Dollmaker's shoulder which said corpse appeared to be in the process of stitching their arm shut with a thin shard of bone and blue hair.

For a brief moment, silver eyes flicker to their towards the face; but the other keeps his silence as his hands pull the hair taut causing the skin to collide as willful fingers tied the final knot. They watch as Dollmaker tests the strength of his work before slipping the bone shard into the ruined cloth that served as his clothes.

You're an idiot. The blue-haired man finally ' _speaks_ ' as a frown twists onto his lips, The biggest idiot I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. What were you thinking?!

If Jaeger was to be honest, they felt like a child being scowled by their parental figure _\- Like that time she had jumped out of the fourth-floor window of her Egg Donors house just to catch her brother's attention while he was in the process of running away... She had broken her wrist and practically given him a heart attack but it was worth it when he decided not to leave her behind like he originally planned to_ \- for recklessly endangering themselves.

It takes her a moment to realize the Dollmaker is waiting for an answer as the silence stretches on into a ' _not quite awkward, but if you don't answer me soon; we will have issues'_ feeling; so they grant him the only answer they can, "He was hurting you."

So you thought it was okay to let him hurt you instead?

...For some reason, she had the strangest feeling that was a trick question...

Licking their suddenly dry lips, golden eyes darted around finding anywhere but Alejandro to be rather interesting, "Yes...Wait, I meant no...Maybe?... I mean I wasn't really intending on getting hurt. I just wanted to paint the wall with his head. All this dull grey stone is killing me."

The Dollmaker really had that ' _disappointed parental unit'_ look down, She decided as she finally glanced towards the other only to look away a moment later with the strangest sense of guilt clawing within their gut.

Tell me. What were your redeeming qualities again?

"I'm loyal," Jaeger offers with a spark of humor flaring into their golden eyes as an easy grin slips upon their lips.

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

"Actually," Jaeger spoke softly as they ran their fingers through Alejandro's hair in an attempt to brush out the knots and loose rubble, "No one stole my body. I just woke up a few years ago and went home."

Home?

"You know, The Caravan. It was a mess but I've been working on repairing it," the golden-eyed corpse admitted as he tried to ease a stubborn knot out of the Dollmaker's hair, "Its...Suitable enough to host the living...I'm pretty sure the children would have told me if it wasn't."

Children? A frown twisted onto the blue-haired man's face as his eyes narrowed. Jaeger, for the sake of my sanity; tell me you are not the 'Demon' that has been stealing children these last few years.

"I have not been stealing children."

Jaeger-

"I liberated them."

After all, half of their children had asked them to come with them and the half had been almost been set on fire by a mob of lunatics. _How could they not bring them home with them? They may look like a monster but not even they were that cruel._

Alejandro groaned softly in drawn-out misery as the Dollmaker's palm introduced itself to his face causing his golden-eyed companion to grant the silver-eyed man a concerned look.

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

"Hey Ale, How do you feel about being an Uncle?"

Jaeger, NO.

A large Cheshire cat grin stretched across the corpse's face as their golden eyes sparkled with mischief, "Jaeger, Yes. "

I swear to God, Jaeger, I will disown you.

"No you won't," Jaeger grinned down at the corpse gnawing upon their arm, "You love me too much."

Like a Plague, Jaeger, Like a Plague.

Humming softly, the golden-eyed corpse carefully shrugged their shoulder so that they would not uproot the other corpse from its meal, "Good enough for me."

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

 _A rasping scream calling out to the darkness._

 _The grating of broken fingernails clawing against the flawed stone flooring._

 _The whistle-stop rattling of chains._

 _Despite her subtle attempts, she still cannot wake him...Honestly, She's not even sure she wants to wake him if this was the reality He would be forced to endure alongside her._

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

If they were to be honest, Jaeger's not all that surprised when Alejandro finally succumbs to the Night Flames burning within the Dollmaker's soul...Though, just because She expected it, didn't make it any easier to accept.

If anything, She hated how those inky black Flames had all but chained the once Rain Arcobaleno to Bermuda's Will. _It was nothing against Bermuda himself, but Alejandro had changed once the Night Flames had fully consumed him. The Rain just wasn't the same:_

 _The light in his eyes had vanished only to be replaced by a predatory darkness that reflected the Hatred She knew was consuming the other._

 _He walked like a lion on the prowl now, instead of crawling like a worm and could actually form proper words once more- both of which were a rather nice boon for the Dollmaker._

 _The obsessive need to seek out Bermuda at a moments notice, to never stray too far, to willingly seek out the same black fire he had spent the last five months shielding away from, to obey without thought or question..._

She wonders for a brief moment if this is what Harmony felt like _\- Did Skies just brainwash everyone into liking them with their magical flames? Was the Mafia full of nothing more than brainwashed lunatics worshiping Megalomaniacs?-_ before abruptly deciding that; for the sake of her sanity, she would rather not know.

Either way, it was almost time for Alejandro's usual weekly visit- _He already thought there was something wrong with them seeing how many times She withdrew into their mind. It wouldn't do to further that belief-_ which meant it was almost time for his annual _'Join the Dark Side. We have Cookies'_ speech. Though maybe this time the Rain would actually bring cookies as She suggested during his last visit.

 _After all, how could she take a 'Join the Dark Side' speech seriously without cookies?_

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

Thirteen months.

Three hundred ninety-five days.

Nine thousand four hundred ninety hours.

Five hundred sixty-nine thousand four hundred minutes.

And one scream too many.

That was exactly how long it took for the rage _\- the unnatural hatred that was silently lurking deep within their patchwork soul-_ to finally overwhelm Her ' _saint-like_ ' patients to the point she decided to just screw the charade and actually try to murder Bermuda von Veckenschtein.

If she closed their eyes, she could still see the surprise within the other's soulless orbs he called eyes as instead of staying down like they usually would have done, she forced their broken body to lunge towards the other as an enraged snarl left their lips.

She could still imagine the way it felt to wrap their hands around that pale neck _\- So pale, so fragile. So easy to just give a sudden twist and snap it in half before the other would ever have time to scream-_ with the full attention of killing the other then and there...

But she didn't.

Or rather, she _couldn't_.

Despite tightening their hands around Bermuda's pale throat, they refused to give that final sharp jerk. Instead, the longer they stared down into those soulless voids the other called eyes, the looser their grip became as the Black Fire within their soul seemed to calm.

It frustrated Her to no end as She knew She was angry. She knew she was furious. She knew She wanted to tear him limb from bloody limb in hopes of soothing the rage and hatred devouring her soul, but at the same time; They didn't.

 ** _This was_** _Sephtis_ ** _Bermuda. He was their_** _Best Friend_ ** _comrade. He was their_** _Home_ ** _Sky. He_** _saved her life_ ** _sheltered them after Checkerface's betrayal. He was_** _the most_ ** _important_** _person_ ** _to them._**

 _So why were they trying to kill him? Why were they so angry at him when he was just trying to help them? Why were they still squeezing his neck? Honestly, they couldn't quite remember. They just needed to_ _ **LET GO!**_

Honestly, She doesn't remember letting go of Bermuda's neck nor does she remember clawing at their skull with a sense of _'wrong, Wrong,_ _ **Wrong,**_ _ **WRONG**_ ' but she must have as one moment she was squeezing his neck and the next Bermuda had been prying their bloody hands away from their bloody face with an expression too soft for a monster.

"It's okay," Sephtis Bermuda's softly voice helps them focus through the chaos that was their mind, "You're okay. You're just a bit confused Jaeger. Alejandro informed me Death had scrambled your mind a bit."

For some reason, the words feel like a betrayal as they try to register them through the thick curtain trying to hide their subconscious away from the world.

"But I can fix that," Bermuda whispered softly as he carefully brushed strands of raven-feathered hair behind the other man's ear, "You just have to stop fighting me, Jaeger. I'm not your enemy... _ **Trust me**_."

There a part of them that doesn't want to listen _\- it kept screaming at Her that something was wrong here. Something was off about all of this-_ but its Sephtis Bermuda and he was asking them to trust him. _How could they not?_ So she slowly nods their head, "Alright."

"Thank you," Bermuda spoke softly as the corner of the dark-haired man's lips twitched upwards into a small fragile smile, "Now please Jaeger; _**Go to sleep**_."

Instantly, the world faded to black.

* * *

 _Okay, so maybe he cheated a bit; but let's be honest, cheating to avoid having his neck snapped like a twig wasn't the worst thing Bermuda had ever done._

 _After all, not even five minutes after subtly influencing the other's thoughts into a owns direction meant to alter his decision-making capabilities, Bermuda had shut down Jaeger's body using the foothold his Black SoulFire held within the other's soul._

 _He'll make it up to Jaeger, The dark-haired Arcobaleno promises himself as he carefully slips out from the under the other's dead weight, Right after he fixed whatever effects Checkerface's last attempt had on his Sun's mind._

 _For now, though, He needed to find a more suitable place to hoard his Sun._

They're trapped.

They're trapped within a void between Life and Death. Unable to step forward into Death's domain- _they had triedIntegratingbut the chains kept dragging them further back with every step they took_ \- and not quite ready to return to the waking world.

And even if they weren't ready, they sure as Hell wasn't stable enough to return just yet. Not when their mind had Mechanism until there was nothing more than jagged pieces held together by the same black fire which had fractured them.

"W **h** a **t** a **m** e **s** s," They murmur softly to themselves as shredded fingers carefully tried to put the pieces of themselves back together...To be honest, it wasn't going so well as the Black Fire had devoured pieces of them both and mixed up the remains so that pieces of Her was within Him and pieces of Him were within Her.

And don't even get them started on the shards of themselves that had been fused together to form another twisted puzzle piece for the jigsaw puzzle that was their soul.

A jigsaw puzzle which they somehow had to fix by themselves while Bermuda's Night Flames kept constantly rearranging the pieces every few seconds...

" **We'** re sc **rew** e **d**."

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

Death finds them eventually, as It always does; though...

"This shouldn't be possible!" The Deity all but hisses as it tries to grab their soul from them once more... **BAM**! Only to be thrown across the void like a rag doll...Again.

"T **el** l us s **om** e **thi** n **g** we d **on't** k **no** w," They grumble as their bloody fingers tighten around their fragile, patchwork soul though the other being doesn't seem to hear them- _or maybe it was just ignoring them-_ as it rose from the ' _ground_ ' once more.

For a brief moment, they wonder if this is what an allergy to Death looks like but quickly dismisses the thought as the Deity glances towards them once more as its scythe appears within its hand.

In the end, it's useless.

Death cannot touch them. It cannot reap them, it cannot guide them forwards nor escort them backward, it cannot devour them nor put their soul to rest. It cannot repair the damage.

"Congratulations," It speaks as it sits across from them, "You have achieved what every mortal dreams of."

"... **Ca** n we **ge** t a **r** ef **un** d?"

Seriously, couldn't this _'Death Immunity'_ have waited until after they convinced the Deity to repair their soul? _Was that really too much to ask for?!_

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

If they're honest, they don't really mind spending time in the Void. It was quiet there and granted them an unlimited amount of time to think and reorganized their thoughts. The later of which they desperately needed as their mind had somehow shifted into even more of a War Zone then it had previously been thanks to their current state of being.

 _Or at least, that's what they told themselves as neither of them really wanted to admit they had been concerned for the other's continual existence. And so, they just pretended it never happened...Ever._

 **'...Please tell me you did not teach some random zombie sign language** ' He implores of her after a long moment of silence in which he was sorting through their memories from the last two years, one month, three weeks, six days, fourteen hours, fifty minutes and thirteen seconds in which he had slumber; leaving Her alone to find for them both. _Though he wasn't sure how exactly, He swore he would find some way of making it up to Her._

 _'Alright: I did not teach a random zombie sign language,'_ She recites as their finger carefully prod a piece of Soul Shard jutting out of formation back into place before a grin twists onto their lips, ' _I taught Alejandro.'_

If he's honest, he's half tempted to introduce their hand to their face at the far too cheerful response of his counterpart. _Did she take anything seriously? Did she really not realize, that according to her own share of their memories, sign language was not supposed to exist until the year 1620 yet here she was, some hundreds of years too early, teaching it to the undead? Did she really not realize the damage she could to the timeline if she wasn't careful?_

 _'Oh no, I know,'_ She admits, _'I just don't care. Either way, WE already altered the timeline the moment WE woke up and left instead of it just being You waking up and staying with Bermuda.'_

...Fuck.

 _'No thanks. I'm not interested in Necrophilia.'_

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

' _We're probably going to die horrible agonizing deaths.'_

' **We already did. '** He reminds her as they carefully withdrawal their bloody fingers from the inky black flames nestles within the core of their soul after a futile attempt to remove them.

 _'Again.'_

 **'...We have a literal immunity to Death...'**

 _'So? That doesn't mean we end up right back here.'_

 **'...Have you always been like this?'**

' _No_.' The answer is blunt and to the point in such a way that can only indicate truth.

 **'Then why-'**

 _'It's a Defense Mechanism which helps keep me distracted,'_ She admits as their shoulders shrug ever so slightly, ' _If you want you can blame Ian since he's the one who taught it to me.'_

 **'And your Bermuda permitted such a thing?'** For a moment a hint of disbelief colored the His tone as he tried to imagine such a world where His Lord could be so different.

' _Sephtis_ ,' She corrects as they close another piece of their soul so it shields the Night Flames within from sight, ' _Only for a while. Then he helped me find another outlet.'_

 **'...And you're not using that other outlet because?'**

' _One: The Organization doesn't exist here. Two: Neither of us owns a washing machine. Three: I'm apparently not supposed to beat people halfway to death no matter how much they may deserve it.'_

' **What does almost beating people have to-'** He begins to question before a memory is shoved into the front of their mind, **'...Oh."**

 _'And that's the game folks,'_ She mimics in her best announcer voice, ' _Join us next week for more on 'Interrogating Unfortunate Soul on Matters with Answers that Makes Us All look like Grade A Assholes' I'm your host, signing off.'_

...Alright, he might have actually deserved that one...

 _ **~X~X~X~**_

They had to be cursed, Jaeger decided as they stared into the soulless black eyes of a man standing before them as though he always belonged there.

He didn't.

He really, really didn't seeing as they were currently trapped within a void between Life and Death _. So how, in the Nine Realms of Hell, was Bermuda von Veckenschtein there?_

"Jaeger," The sound of their name causes their golden eyes to snap towards the Night Arcobaleno's face as the dark haired man carefully took another step closer towards them, "Do you recognize me?"

 **A boy with dark raven-feather hair and soulless eyes who was barely in the grasp of manhood sauntering his way closer to a small, hidden table in the back of a busy tavern.**

 **A busted lip and 'Noble, First Class' blood marring his sunkissed skin.**

 **An overdressed annoyance standing upon his doorstep as they offered him a banquet of exotic flowers while their mother giggles in the background. A tan hand slams the door shut in the other's face, hoping the First Class would get a clue sooner rather than later.**

 **The feeling of icy water from a river against his calves as his dark-haired companion guided the taller further from the safety of the shoreline. He's certain this idiot was going to cause them to drown.**

 **"Jaeger," the dark-haired teenager speaks his name as though tasting some exotic food before soulless eyes seem to brighten as a grin stretches across pale lips. All the while, Golden orbs glare venom at the amused looking Dollmaker sitting next to him.**

"Bermuda," The answer slips from their lips- _before either of them were aware they decided to speak_ \- causing the corner of the Veckenschtein Lord's lips to twitch upwards every so slightly.

"That's right," There's a softness to his voice- _one they both find familiar for different reasons-_ as the dark haired man stares down at where they're sitting, "And do you know where you are?"

"The Void."

"And how you got here?"

"You trapped me here," For the first time since Bermuda's arrival, golden eyes glance away from their patchwork soul in favor of narrowing in a silent acquisition at the other who doesn't even bother to deny their words.

"I did," He steps closer and for a moment they're reminded of how Death had cornered them at their first meeting, "But I swear to you, Jaeger, it is for good reason."

"Has anyone ever told you: The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions?" They question while barely resisting the urge to stand and more swiftly away from the other _. It wouldn't do them much good anyway, not with how the Chain they had woken with- She had always wondered why the Vindice wore chains but now that she knew, She wished she didn't- were tightening ever so slightly as knowing they wanted to run._

"Do you remember Checkerface?" Bermuda spits out the name as though it was a curse- _and maybe it was-_ as Night Flames visibly surge beneath his pale skin.

 **The Strongest Mist.**

 **Tactful and Solid Illusions.**

 **A false name, a false face, a false body.**

 **Lies and Deceit.**

 **An ultimate Betrayal which led to Death.**

 **Acrobaleno.**

A feral snarl rips itself from their lips as the Night Flames within their soul begins to creep out from the fractures they could not close. _They didn't think could ever hate anyone as much as they hated the humanoid creature known as Checkerface._

"No one else is aware of his existence nor his Curse, Jaeger. No one else is aware of what the Arcobaleno really are. Hell, He's already picked his newest victims to replace us as Arcobaleno and while it may be too late to save them from their fates; we can't just let him win, Jaeger. We cannot permit this to go on, to permit others to suffer and die like we did," Bermuda speaks as offers them a hand, "Which is why _**I need you to come back with me**_."

For a moment, all they can do is stare- _they're not even sure they're mimicking breathing anymore-_ as they consider the others words, consider the silent offer the Night Arcoableno was holding out to them, "And if I say 'No'?

Its something they have to know before they could even consider making a decision.

There's a gentle smile on his face as Bermuda's eyes soften with his answer, "Then I will let you go."

There is no deception within those soulless black eyes as they stayed locked upon golden orbs and the silence stretched onwards.

...

...

...

"Then please," Releasing their soul, they carefully take the offered hand, "Guide the way, Lord Bermuda."

 _They pretend not to notice how the other's hand tightens ever so slightly around their own as they're pulled onto their feet._

 _ **Thud!**_

 _The sound of splintering wood fills the air as his back finally makes an impact with the opposite wall. For the briefest of moments, Bermuda can't help but feel as though there was something familiar- something important- about this room but his mind doesn't have long to linger on such a notion as a crimson blur lunges into his line of sight._

 _Bracing himself, Bermuda prepared for impact._

 _He needed to stop this. He needed to put Jack down and he needed to do it swiftly before someone else was dragged into their conflict-_

 _ **CRASH!**_

 _For a moment, all the dark haired man could do was stare as the crimson blur vanished; leaving just a crimson corpse laying on the hardwood floor with a dazed gleam to its blood red eyes and an old tome at his feet._

 _...What the Fuck?_

 _"Would you all just shut up already?!" A far too familiar voice- though it was slightly hoarse and bit too rasp then what he was used to, Bermuda would know that velvety smooth voice anywhere- had his head whiplashing to the side as soulless black eyes stared into piercing gold, "I'm trying to sleep!"_


End file.
